The Printing-Press 
and tbe Gospel 



The Printing-Press 
and the Gospel 



By 

Edwin R. Palmer 




Review and Herald Publishing Association 

Takoma Park, Washington, D. C. 

U. S. A., 1912 






Copyright, 191 2, by 

Review and Herald Publishing 

Association 



£CI.A3iy501 



To Our 

Colporteurs Who Go About 

Doing Good 



PREFACE 

'T'HE proclamation of the good tidings of the gospel by an 
■*■ organized movement to distribute large quantities of 
literature is not a new method of Christian service. Faith- 
ful servants of God for centuries have marked out the way 
before us. The courage and devotion, the sacrifice and 
success, of the printers and colporteurs who have pioneered 
the way for other great religious movements, are an in- 
spiration to us who are called of God to proclaim the gos- 
pel in its final setting to all the world in this generation. 

This little book is made up very largely of quotations 
from histories, biographical sketches, incidents in the 
lives of Christian workers, stories of God's providences, 
and the experiences, achievements, and successes of other 
servants of the Master who have published the gospel 
by the distribution of the printed page. 

It is the outgrowth of the author's desire to pass on to 
others some of the good things that have fallen into his 
hands during twenty-five years of service in this department 
of Christian effort. It is intended as a recruiting agent for 
gospel workers. There are thousands of men and women, 
and boys and girls, who are laboring faithfully and success- 
fully in various departments of the world's work, who 
might become successful, soul-winning colporteurs if they 
realized the power of God to help them, and what a pre- 
cious privilege it is to give one's self in service for the lost. 

That the Spirit of God may accompany this little mes- 
senger, and so impress its appeal upon the hearts of its 
readers that they will hear in trumpet tones the Saviour 's 
invitation to labor, and obey his command, "Go ye into 
all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature," is 
the sincere prayer of the author. 

E. R. Palmer. 

Takoma Park, Washington, D. C, "July, 1012. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I The Beginning of Modern Printing . . . . 13 

II Literature and the Reformation 29 

III Literature and Modern Missions 93 

IV Colportage an Evangelizing Agency . . . . 125 
V Colportage and the Aggressive Principle . .155 

VI Colportage and Personal Service . . . . . 179 
VII The Resources Which Do Not Fail . . . .201 



The Beginning of Modern Printing 



"Behold, I will send for many fishers, satth 
the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after 
will I send for many hunters, and they shall 
hunt them from every mountain, and from 
every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks" 
Jer, 16:16. 



I 

The Beginning of Modern Printing 
Movable Types 
HpHE invention of movable types, by Laurence Coster, a 
•*■ native of Holland, in the year 1423, marks the begin- 
ning of modern printing. Coster was a resident of the old 
town of Haarlem, "in the land of the windmills," described 
as "a sleepy old town" where "the boats lie at the quays, 
and now and then a cart rumbles along the streets." 

It is said by the people of Holland that Coster got his 
idea of carving letters on the ends of sticks by a very com- 
mon incident. One day he took- his family into the forest 
for an outing, and to amuse the children, he cut their names 
with his knife in the bark of a tree. The thought came 
to him, "I might carve the letters of the alphabet, each 
letter on a separate block, arrange them in words and 
sentences, tie them together, ink them over, and then 
stamp any word or sentence in the language." 

Another report has it that the bark loosened from the 
tree, and a piece fell on the soft earth. When he picked it 
up, he noticed the impression of the letters he had cut. 
Whatever the details, the incident led him to the idea that 
movable types could be made with* letters carved upon the 
end, which could be used to advantage in printing. 
Ancient Forms of Printing 

Previous to this time, there had been comparatively few 
books, for all had to be written by hand on parchment. It 
was the work of nearly a lifetime to hand-print a complete 
copy of the Scriptures. 

This was not the first time, however, that letters had 
been carved upon wood. The Egyptians and Chinese had 

13 



14 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

already printed from blocks with letters carved upon them ; 
but no one, it is asserted by some authorities, up to this 
time had conceived that letters might be carved upon 
separate blocks so as to be arranged conveniently in 
sentences, used for printing, distributed, and then set 
again at will. 

Authorities differ upon this point. It is believed by 
some that there are evidences that the use of movable 
type for printing was known both to the Greeks and to the 
Romans, but that it was not developed "because there 
was absolutely no commercial demand for printing." 

"The Lack of Printing in Antiquity" 

From an article on "The Lack of Printing in Antiquity," 
contributed by Frederick Drew Bond to the Popular Sci- 
ence Monthly (New York), and republished in part in the 
Literary Digest of Feb. 3, 19 12, we quote the following: — 

"Among fragments from the Greco- Roman world which 
have come down to us, not a few imply the use of some 
sort of stamping, or rudimentary printing. Seals and 
stamps bearing reverse legends are not infrequent, and, 
in 1908, the Italian Archeological Committee at work in 
Crete discovered a terra-cotta inscription whose letters 
had been impressed separately. According to Lacroix, 
Cicero had at least the idea of movable type, for in arguing 
against the Epicurean conception of the world as formed 
by the chance concourse of atoms, he uses this curious line 
of reasoning: 'Why not believe, also, that by throwing 
together indiscriminately innumerable forms of letters 
of the alphabet, either in gold or in any other substance, 
one can print on the ground, with these letters, the annals 
of Ennuis?' 

" D 'Israeli in his \ Curiosities of Literature ' has a quaint 
passage in which he suggests that the Roman Senate, fear- 



The Beginning of Modern Printing 15 

ing the effects of printed books, prevented movable type 
from corning into use. Another suggestion is that of 
De Quincey, who expresses the view that the reason the 
Romans did not use the press was not from lack of knowl- 
edge of movable type, but from lack of paper with 
which to make use of it." 

A Question of Commercial Demand 

The story of the invention of printing, Mr. Bond thinks, 
shows clearly that in ancient times there was a lack of the 
necessary stimulus to lead any one to persevere in the 
development of the art. This stimulus, however, came in 
the fifteenth century with the awakening in Germany in a 
religious direction, which created "a strong commercial 
demand for Bibles and works of devotion, which was not 
supplied by the manuscript output." 

"Antique and religious literature and the Bible, in the 
Vulgate and in translations, furnished the materials for the 
first printers till the controversies of the Reformation 
brought more grist to the mill. Between 1456 and 1478 
the new art had been exercised in Germany, the Nether- 
lands, Italy, France, Spain, and Scandinavia. By the 
beginning of the sixteenth century it is computed that 
sixteen thousand editions of books had been printed. 

"On the other- hand, in the Roman empire the popular 
old books were already in sufficiently large manuscript 
circulation, and what there was of new material was amply 
cared for by the few publishing houses of Alexandria and 
Rome. In the Roman empire the demand either for new 
books or for new copies of the old was too well supplied for 
inventor after inventor to take up some thirty-five years 
in perfecting movable type. It was the insight that the de- 
mand for more books would afford great gain if gratified 
that induced the long labors which ended in a practicable 



1 6 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

method of producing and using movable type. No such 
prospect existed in antiquity. To a Roman of the empire 
a printing-press would have seemed a commercially use- 
less contrivance. 

"Whether, of course, fragmentary printing with some 
rude and easily produced sort of movable type, such as 
would be made of carved wood, ever occurred at all in 
ancient times, can not be said. Not improbably, it did; 
the Cretan inscription, noticed above, had it been im- 
pressed on papyrus by ink, would have been an example of 
rudimentary typography. Possibly, for all we know, 
attempts of this sort, made for the amusement or for the 
novelty of the thing, may have occurred time and time 
again." 

The First Practical Use of Type 

Whatever may have been the knowledge of the ancients 
concerning the use of movable type, it is certain that Lau- 
rence Coster was the first man to lay hold of the idea and 
turn it to practical use. However, so far as is known, 
Coster himself did not achieve great success with his in- 
vention. His types were made from wood, which would 
not stand the pressure of the press. It is said that he 
printed various documents, including a pamphlet; but so 
far as is known, there are no copies in existence to sub- 
stantiate the claim. 

The Idea Carried to Germany 

In the employ of Coster was a young German by the 
name of John Gutenberg. After Coster's death, Guten- 
berg returned to Germany, to the cathedral city of Strass- 
burg, where he began setting type on his own account. 
He found the wooden type so impractical that he resolved 
to make types of metal. He began to experiment. Lead 



The Beginning of Modern Printing 17 

was too soft. He had a little knowledge of metals, but 
very little money. He preferred to keep the invention to 
himself, but he could not proceed without assistance. 
Finally, he enlisted the cooperation of John Faust, a 
wealthy goldsmith of Strassburg, whose knowledge of 
metals and liberal investments supplied the needs. 

The First Printed Bible 

In the year 1448 the experiments in type-making had 
advanced to a stage of development where Gutenberg was 
ready to begin printing. The first work undertaken was 
the printing of the famous forty-two line Latin Bible. 
Eight years were required to carve the metal letters and 
print the first edition. The work was done in Strassburg, 
though the Gutenberg Bibles bear the imprint of Mainz, 
Germany. The first edition was completed in 1456. 

Great secrecy was maintained while this work was going 
on. It was a new undertaking. By many it was believed 
that the Bible was not for the common people, and it was 
a risky undertaking to publish an unlimited number of 
copies. Besides, the type that they had made was an 
imitation of hand-printed letters, and it was the purpose 
of Gutenberg and Faust to sell these Bibles as hand-printed 
copies at the regular high prices. That this new art might 
be kept a secret, and the printers not be easily found out, 
is doubtless the reason why the first Bibles bore the imprint 
of Mainz instead of Strassburg, and why the first books 
were sold in Paris, far from the place of publication. 

The historian says that the work was done in an out-of- 
the-way chamber. Citizens of Strassburg point the trav- 
eler to a little island in the river, and proudly say, "That 
is the place from which the light shone forth upon all the 
world; that is the spot where Gutenberg built his little 
print-shop, and published the first Bibles." 



1 8 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

The First Colporteur for Printed Books 

But when the first Bibles were printed, these enterpri- 
sing pioneers in the art were confronted with another diffi- 
culty. How were the books to be sold? There were no 
colporteurs upon whom they could rely. During the many 
years of experiment and labor, much money had been in- 
vested in this work. They must get their money back. 
The books might be sold at a high price if the method of 
printing could be kept secret. 

Faust, who alone had invested in the undertaking, re- 
solved to sell the Bibles himself. He could not trust the 
work to others. A quantity of these wonderful, newly 
printed books was sent to far-away Paris, and there he 
began his work. 

With the keen instinct of the modern colporteur, he 
decided to head his list, if possible, with influential names. 

King Charles VII the First Purchaser 

He called first on Charles VII, king of France. Having 
secured an audience, he showed his beautiful Bible to the 
king in his royal palace. It was printed on vellum, and 
contained six hundred and seven leaves. The king was 
delighted, and, believing that he was purchasing the most 
magnificent copy of the Scriptures in existence, he paid 
eight hundred and twenty-five dollars for it. 

This would seem to be a very high price for a copy of the 
Scriptures, which can now be purchased for twenty cents; 
but considering the fact that it required practically a life- 
time to print by hand such a copy, the price asked did 
not seem so great. * 

Sold at Auction for Fifty Thousand Dollars 

To-day those same Bibles are even more valuable. A 
short time ago one of the Gutenberg Bibles was sold at 



The Beginning of Modern Printing 19 

auction in New York City for fifty thousand dollars, — the 
largest price, we are told, ever paid for a single book. 

It is most interesting, and a cause for thankfulness to 
those who love the Word of. God, that the wonderful art of 
printing should first have been made use of in the publica- 
tion of the Scriptures; and that, after a lapse of more than 
four hundred and fifty years, one of these same Bibles 
brings the highest price for which any book was ever sold. 

Pleased, doubtless, with the success of his visit, and 
that he had the name of the king at the head of his list, 
Faust next called at the palace of the archbishop, and 
introduced his Bible. The archbishop subscribed at the 
same price paid by the king, and Faust went on his way 
looking for other customers. 

The King and the Archbishop 

A most interesting incident now took place, which gave 
a new turn to Faust's Bible-selling experience. This is 
related by Charles Coffin in "The Story of Liberty," pages 

75-77= — 

"The archbishop calls upon the king. 

"'I have something to show you — the most magnifi- 
cent book in the world, ' says the king. 

11 ' Indeed ! ' The archbishop is thinking of his own book. 

" ' Yes; a copy of the Bible. It is a marvel. The letters 
are so even that you can not discover a shade of difference. ' 

"'I have a splendid copy, and if yours is any more per- 
fect than mine, I should like to see it. ' 

"'Here is mine. Just look at it;' and the king shows 
his copy. 

1 ' The archbishop turns the leaves. ' This is remarkable. 
I don 't see but that it is exactly like mine. ! The pages 
are the same, the letters are the same. Can one man have 
written both? — Impossible! Yet they are alike. There 



20 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

is not a particle of difference between them. ' How long 
have you had this?' the archbishop asks. 

"'I bought it the other day of a man who came to the 
palace. ' 

"' Singular! I bought mine of a man who came to my 
palace. ' 

"Neither the king nor the archbishop knows what to 
think of it. They place the two Bibles side by side, and 
find them precisely alike. There are the same number of 
pages; each page begins with the same word; there is not a 
shade of variation. Wonderful ! But the archbishop, in a 
few days, is still more perplexed. He discovers that some 
of the rich citizens of Paris have copies of Bibles exactly 
like the king's and his own. More: he discovers that 
copies are for sale here and there. 

' ' ' Where did you get them ? ' 

" 'We bought them of a man who came along. ' 

"Who was he?' 

"'We don't know.' 

'"This is the work of the devil.' 

"The archbishop can arrive at no other conclusion. 
The Bible is a dangerous book. None but the priests 
should be permitted to read it. But here is the evil one 
selling it everywhere; or, if not himself in person, some 
man has sold himself to Satan for that purpose. He soon 
discovers that it is Dr. John Faust, of Strassburg. 

"'You have sold yourself to the evil one, and must be 
burned to death. ' 

"Till this moment the great invention has been a secret; 
but Dr. Faust must divulge it, or be burned. He shows 
the archbishop how the Bibles are printed; and John Gut- 
enberg has printed so many of them that the price has 
been reduced one half. The archbishop, the king, and 
everybody else are astonished. So Faust saves his life; 



The Beginning of Modern Printing 21 

but the idea of selling himself to the devil has gone into 
story and song." 

When Faust was arrested on the charge of being in 
league with the devil in making books, his room was 
searched, and many copies of the Bible were found, "highly 
embellished with red ink — the reddest of red ink, at that, 
which was supposed to be his own blood. The magis- 
trate, on this ground, declared Dr. Faust to be in league 
with the devil, hence the tradition of the devil and Dr. 
Faust, or the printer's devil." 

This simple story of the invention of movable type by 
Laurence Coster, the printing of the first Bible by Guten- 
berg, and the sale of the first printed book by John Faust, 
covers the first important steps in the development of 
modern printing, and in the world-wide distribution of 
literature. Well may the citizen of Strassburg point with 
pride to the little island which is believed to be the site of 
the Gutenberg shop, and say, "That is the spot from which 
the light shone forth upon all the world." 

The Gutenberg Monument at Strassburg 

The German government has erected fitting monuments 
to the memory of these pioneer publishers, in the cities of 
Strassburg and Frankfort-on-the-Main. Strassburg has 
been honored with a statue of Gutenberg, who holds in 
his hand a tablet with the inscription, "Let there be light." 
On the four sides of the base of the statue are four reliefs, 
in bronze, representing the mission of the printing-press. 
In the center of each is shown the old screw-press used by 
Gutenberg, with complete copies of the Bible falling from 
it upon the floor. 

The first represents a class of children, each with a book 
open in his lap, with teachers standing near instructing 
them. The second shows a great company of slaves, hold- 



22 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

ing up their fettered hands, while teachers gather up the 
books from the Gutenberg press, and strike off the fetters 
of slavery. The third represents a multitude of heathen 
upon their knees, their backs turned upon their gods, and 
receiving from the hands of missionaries the books from 
the Gutenberg press. The fourth shows a company of 
representatives, in native costume, one from each of the 
great nations of the earth, reaching out their hands, and 
receiving the books passed to them from the Gutenberg 
press. 

The Frankfort Monument 

In Frankfort-on-the-Main is a beautiful monument 
representing the three pioneers of modern printing. The 
statues are in bronze. The first is of Laurence Coster, 
with a piece of wooden type in his hand, but with no book 
or other publication. In the center is John Gutenberg, 
with the metal types in one hand, and a completed book 
in the other. The third is John Faust, with a parcel of 
books on his left arm, and with his right hand extended as 
if inviting the people to buy his books. A great trio, 
those three, — the inventor, the first printer, and the first 
to sell a printed book. 

On the pedestal are tablets intended to represent what 
the printing-press has accomplished for Germany in the 
development of literature, science, art, and navigation. 
On the four corners of the wide, flat base on which the 
monument stands, are figures of an ox, a lion, a camel, and 
an elephant, intended to represent the power of the press. 

These monuments represent the most important inven- 
tion of modern times. The printing-press introduced a 
new era. Light and liberty began to dawn upon the 
hearts of men, and the darkness of the world's longest and 
darkest night began to flee away. Men began to think, 



The Beginning of Modern Printing 23 

and both civil and religious despots became alarmed. A 
new factor had entered the world's affairs. A friend of 
the people, a champion of the gospel, a light-bearer to all 
nations, had been born, and the light of a new day had 
dawned upon the earth. 

The Press Supersedes the Monks 

"The setting up of the printing-press," says Coffin, 
"soon put an end to all the writing in the cloisters of the 
monasteries. The monks lay aside their pens. The 
printing-press turns out thousands of copies of a book 
almost while they are sharpening their pens and getting 
their parchment ready. People begin to read, and from 
reading comes thinking, and from thinking comes some- 
thing else." — "Story of Liberty," page 78. 

The change brought about by the introduction of print- 
ing and the circulation of the Scriptures, meant the break- 
ing of the power of the church over the minds and con- 
sciences of men. The churchmen were alarmed. Their 
traffic was slipping from their grasp. 

Must Root Out Printing or Be Rooted Out 

"The fears of the priests increased as they saw their 
flocks becoming more intent upon reading the Scriptures 
or hearing them read, than attending mass; and they were 
especially concerned at the growing disposition of the 
people to call in question the infallibility of the church and 
the sacred character of the priesthood. It was every day 
becoming clearer to them that if the people were permitted 
to resort to books, and pray to God direct in their vulgar 
tongue, instead of through the priests in Latin, the au- 
thority of the mass would fall, and the church itself would 
be endangered. A most forcible expression was given to 
this view by the vicar of Croydon in a sermon preached by 



24 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

him at Paul's Cross, in which he boldly declared, 'We 
must root out printing, or printing will root out us. ' 

"But printing could not be rooted out any more than 
the hand of Time could be put back. This invention, 
unlike every other, contained within itself a self-preserving 
power which insured its perpetuation. Its method had 
become known, and was recorded by itself. Printed books 
were now part of the inheritance of the human race; and 
though they might be burned, as vast numbers of Bibles 
were, so that they might be kept out of the hands of the 
people, so long as a single copy remained it was not lost, 
but was capable of immediate restoration and of infinite 
multiplication. 

The "Charter and Title-Deed of Christianity" 

"The intense interest which the publication of the 
Bible excited, and the emotion it raised in the minds of 
those who read it, are matters of history. At this day, 
when Bibles are common in almost every household, it is 
perhaps difficult to appreciate the deep feeling of awe and 
reverence with which men for the first time perused the 
Sacred Volume. We have become so familiar with it that 
we are apt to look upon it merely as one among many 
books — as part of the current literature of the day, or as a 
record of ancient history, to be checked off by the arith- 
metician and analyzed by the critic. 

"It was far different in those early times, when the 
Bible was rare and precious. Printing had brought forth 
the Book, which had lain so long silent in manuscript be- 
neath the dust of old libraries, and laid it before the people, 
to be read by them in their own tongue. It was known 
to be the very charter and title-deed of Christianity, the 
revelation of God's own will to man; and now, to read it 
or hear it read was like meeting God face to face, and 
listening to his voice speaking directly to them. 



The Beginning of Modem Printing 25 

"At first, it could only be read to the people. . . . 
But as the art of printing improved, and copies of the 
Bible became multiplied in portable forms, it could then 
be taken home into the study or the chamber, and read 
and studied in secret. It was found to be an ever-fresh, 
gushing spring of thought, welling up, as it were, from the 
Infinite." — " The Huguenots," by Samuel Smiles, pages 19-21 . 
The Rapid Publication of the Scriptures 

The popular demand for printed matter was chiefly for 
the Scriptures and for other religious writings. Consider- 
ing the crude facilities of those early times, it is simply 
marvelous how rapidly the work of publishing the Scrip- 
tures progressed. The demand of the people was im- 
perative. Printers sprang up everywhere. 

"It has been calculated (by Daunou, Petit, Rudel, 
Taillandier, and others) that by the end of the fifteenth 
century four millions of volumes had been printed, the 
greater part in folio; and that between 1500 and 1536 
eighteen more millions of volumes had been printed. 
After that it is impossible to number them. In 1533 there 
had already been eighteen editions of the German Bible . 
printed at Wittenberg, thirteen at Augsburg, thirteen at 
Strassburg, twelve at Basel, and so on. Schoeffer, in his 
4 Influence of Luther on Education,' says that Luther's 
Catechism soon ran to one hundred thousand copies. 
Printing was at the same time making rapid strides in 
France, England, and the Low Countries." — Id., page 28. 

"Four hundred and fifty years have passed since Lau- 
rence Coster carved the names of his children in the bark of 
the trees in the gardens of Haarlem, since John Gutenberg 
printed his first book in that out-of-the-way chamber; 
but through all the years that discovery of using types to 
express ideas has been, like the flowing of a river, widening 
and deepening." — " The Story of Liberty ," pages 78, 7Q. 



26 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

THE BIBLE 

Hast thou ever heard of such a book? 

The author, God himself; 

The subject, God and man, salvation, life 

And death — eternal ' life, eternal death — 

Dread words! whose meaning has no end, no bounds! 

Most wondrous Book! bright candle of the Lord! 

Star of eternity! the only star 

By which the bark of man could navigate 

The sea of life, and gain the coast of bliss 

Securely; only star which rose on Time, 

And, on its dark and troubled billows, still, 

As generation, drifting swiftly by, 

Succeeded generation, threw a ray 

Of heaven's own light, and to the hills of God, 

The eternal hills, pointed the sinner's eye. 

This Book, this holy Book, on every line 
Marked with the seal of high divinity, 
On every leaf bedewed with drops of love 
Divine, and with the eternal heraldry 
And signature of God Almighty stamped 
From first to last, — this ray of sacred light, 
This lamp from off the everlasting throne, 
Mercy took down, and in the night of Time 
Stood, casting on the dark her gracious bow; 
And evermore beseeching men, with tears 
And earnest sighs, to read, believe, and live. 

— Pollok. 



Literature and the Reformation 



Pnnting is the latest and greatest gift by 
which God enables us to advance the things 
of the gospel. — Luther. 



II 

Literature and the Reformation 

'T^HE invention of modern printing, in the providence 
"*■ of God, was given to the world at an opportune time 
to make possible the great Reformation of the sixteenth 
century. For more than two hundred years there had 
appeared omens of a revolution within the papal church. 
The forces had been gathering, the factors had been 
arranging themselves, which were to break the deathlike 
grip that the Papacy had secured upon the minds of men. 
"The midnight of the world" had passed; the eastern 
sky was already streaked with light — the promise of the 
coming day. "The morning star of the Reformation'"' 
had already arisen ; the conflict between light and darkness 
was rapidly becoming world-wide. Conscience was awa- 
kened, and men thirsted for knowledge. The bold testi- 
mony of the first Reformers had stirred the hearts of men, 
and they began to think for themselves. 

A Demand for Religious Literature 

Gradually there sprang up a demand for books and 
tracts, and especially for the Holy Scriptures and other 
religious literature. This religious awakening doubtless 
contributed very materially to the development of modern 
printing. 

The first Bible had been printed about the middle of the 
fifteenth century, and the art of printing rapidly became 
known throughout Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, 
France, Spain, and Scandinavia. By the beginning of the 
sixteenth century printers were established in business in 
all. the leading countries of Europe. 

29 



30 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

A New Thing 

The power of the printing-press in the Reformation in 
Germany can hardly be overestimated. The Papacy had 
learned how to deal with reformers — the heretics of the 
church. By the thumbscrew, the rack, the fagot, and a 
multitude of other satanic ingenuities, developed by the 
Inquisition, she had learned how to silence the voice raised 
against the false doctrines and practises of the church. 

But here was a new thing, which the church herself had 
not used, and which she had not learned how to silence. 
Literature might be confiscated and consigned to the 
flames, but more could be printed. Having no voice by 
which it could be located, and leaving no footprints by 
which it could be traced, it could be hidden from the ever- 
watchful eye of the Inquisition. Literature found its way 
from home to home, and from country to country. Thus 
the seed was sown. Every effort put forth to destroy it 
was of no avail, but only increased the seed and its wonder- 
ful harvest. 

"The Trumpet-Tongued Press" 

"The relative importance of the several agencies for 
making known the unsearchable riches of Christ," says 
Fison, in "Colportage," page I, "depends on providential 
circumstances. In the days of the Reformation, Luther 
was wise in seizing the trumpet-tongued press, whose 
hoarse blasts waked a slumbering world from the night of 
ages. Had he neglected this new-born power, and re- 
stricted his exposures and anathemas of papal superstition, 
and his expositions of a saving faith, to oral discussion, 
his Reformation might have been drowned by the din of 
ecclesiastical denunciation, or smothered by inquisitorial 
fires, like those of Jerome of Prague, and Huss of Bohemia. 
When two thousand pulpits were closed against their 



Literature and the Reformation 31 

incumbents, and as many ministers of Christ were driven 
from their homes, such men as Bunyan, Baxter, and Flavel 
had no other recourse but to preach the gospel to the eye, 
since the avenue to the mind, through the ear, was closed 
to them." 

The following quotations having a bearing upon the 
use of literature in the Reformation of the sixteenth cen- 
tury are compiled largely from D'Aubigne's "History of 
the Reformation," and Wylie's "History of Protestant- 
ism." As many editions of D'Aubigne's great work have 
been issued in various forms, without effort at uniformity 
in volumes or paging, we cite only the number of the book 
and the chapter from which each quotation is taken. The 
subheadings are supplied to indicate the special topics 
treated, and for convenience of reference. 

The Revival of Letters 

"Thus princes and people, the living members of the 
church, and the theologians labored, each in their sphere, 
to prepare the work which the sixteenth century was about 
to carry into effect. But there was another auxiliary 
which was to lend its aid to the Reformation — I mean 
literature. . . . 

"The masterpieces of antiquity began gradually to 
1 ssue from the presses of Germany, supplanting the school- 
men; and the art of printing . . . multiplied the 
energetic voices which remonstrated against the corruption 
of the church, and those voices, not less energetic, which 
invited the human mind into new paths." — " History of the 
Reformation" by D'Aubigne, book 1, chap. 7. 

Weapons Buried for Ages 

"To secure the triumph of truth, the first thing neces- 
sary was to bring forth the weapons by which she was to 
conquer, from the arsenals where they had lain buried for 



32 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

ages. These weapons were the Holy Scriptures of the Old 
and New Testaments. It was necessary to revive in 
Christendom a love and study of sacred literature, both 
Greek and Hebrew. John Reuchlin was the individual 
whom Divine Providence selected for this purpose. . . 

"He made a Latin dictionary, which supplanted those 
of the schoolmen; composed a Greek grammar, which 
greatly facilitated the study of that language; translated 
and expounded the penitential psalms; corrected the Vul- 
gate; and was the first in Germany (this constitutes his 
highest merit and glory) who published a Hebrew gram- 
mar and dictionary. By this work Reuchlin opened the 
long-sealed books of the Old Testament, and reared 'a 
monument,' as he himself expresses it, 'more durable 
than brass. ' . . . 

"His thirst for knowledge was equaled only by his zeal 
l n communicating it. He spared neither money nor labor 
to introduce the editions of the classics into Germany as 
they issued from the presses of Italy; and in this way the 
son of a bailiff did more to enlighten his countrymen than 
rich municipalities or powerful princes." — Id. 

Luther's Illustrious Friend 

" Reuchlin 's influence over youth was great; and, in this 
respect, who can calculate how much the Reformation 
owes to him ? We will give only one example. His cousin, 
a young man named Schwarzerd, son of an artisan, who 
had acquired celebrity as an armorer, came to lodge with 
his sister Elizabeth in order to study under his direction. 
Reuchlin, delighted at the genius and application of his 
young pupil, adopted him. Advice, presents of books, 
examples, nothing, in short, he spared to make his relative 
useful to the church and to his country. He rejoiced to 
see his work prospering under his eye; and thinking the 



Literature and the Reformation 33 

name Schwarzerd too barbarous, translated it into Greek, 
and named the young student Melanchthon. It was 
Luther's illustrious friend." — Id. 

The Translation of the New Testament 

"Erasmus rendered an immense service to truth by 
publishing his critical edition of the Greek text of the New- 
Testament. . . . This edition appeared at Basel in 
15 16, the year before the Reformation. Erasmus thus did 
for the New Testament what Reuchlin had done for the 
Old. Theologians were thenceforth able to read the Word 
of God in the original tongues, and at a later period to 
recognize the purity of doctrine taught by the Reform- 
ers. . . . "Reuchlin and Erasmus restored the Bible 
to the learned; Luther restored it to the people." — Id., 
chap. 8. 

Luther's Mighty Pen 

"We step a moment out of the domain of history, to 
narrate a dream which the elector Frederick of Saxony had 
on the night preceding the memorable day on which Luther 
affixed his Theses to the door of the castle-church. The 
elector told it the next morning to his brother, Duke John, 
who was then residing with him at his palace of Schweinitz, 
six leagues from Wittenberg. 

"On the morning of the thirty-first of October, 15 17, the 
elector said to Duke John, 'Brother, I must tell you a 
dream which I had last night, and the meaning of which 
I should like much to know. It is so deeply impressed on 
my mind that I will never forget it, were I to live a thou- 
sand years. For I dreamed it thrice, and each time with 
new circumstances.' 

"Duke John: ' Is it a good or a bad dream? ' 
The Elector : ' I know not ; God knows. ' 

"Duke John: 'Don't be uneasy at it; but be so good 
as to tell it to me. ' 



34 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

"The Elector: 'Having gone to bed last night, fatigued 
and out of spirits, I fell asleep shortly after my prayer, and 
slept calmly for about two hours and a half; I then awoke, 
and continued awake to midnight, all sorts of thoughts 
passing through my mind. Among other things, I thought 
how I was to observe the feast of All Saints. I prayed 
for the poor souls in purgatory; and supplicated God to 
guide me, my counsel, and my people according to truth. 
I again fell asleep, and then dreamed that Almighty God 
sent me a monk, who was a true son of the apostle Paul. 
All the saints accompanied him by order of God, in order 
to bear testimony before me, and to declare that he did 
not come to contrive any plot, but that all that he did was 
according to the will of God. 

"'They asked me to have the goodness graciously to 
permit him to write something on the door of the church 
of the Castle of Wittenberg. This I granted through my 
chancellor. Thereupon the monk went to the church, and 
began to write in such large characters that I could read 
the writing at Schweinitz. The pen which he used was so 
large that its end reached as far as Rome, where it pierced 
the ears of a lion that was crouching there, and caused the 
triple crown upon the head of the Pope to shake. All the 
cardinals and princes, running hastily up, tried to prevent 
it from falling. You and I, brother, wished also to assist, 
and I stretched out my arm; but at this moment I awoke, 
with my arm in' the air, quite amazed, and very much 
enraged at the monk for not managing his pen better. 
I re-collected myself a little; it was only a dream. 

'"I was still half asleep, and once more closed my eyes. 
The dream returned. The lion, still annoyed by the pen, 
began to roar with all his might, so much so that the whole 
city of Rome, and all the States of the Holy Empire, ran 
to see what the matter was. The Pope requested them 



Literature and the Reformation 35 

to oppose this monk, and applied particularly to me, on 
account of his being in my country. I again awoke, re- 
peated the Lord's Prayer, entreated God to preserve His 
Holiness, and once more fell asleep. 

'"Then I dreamed that all the princes of the empire, and 
we among them, hastened to Rome, and strove, one after 
another, to break the pen; but the more we tried the stiffer 
it became, sounding as if it had been made of iron. We 
at length desisted. I then asked the monk (for I was 
sometimes at Rome, and sometimes at Wittenberg) where 
he got this pen, and why it was so strong. "The pen," 
replied he, "belonged to an old goose of Bohemia a hun- 
dred years old. I got it from one of my old schoolmasters. 
As to its strength, it is owing to the impossibility of de- 
priving it of its pith or marrow; and I am quite astonished 
at it myself." Suddenly I heard a loud noise — a large 
number of other pens had sprung out of the long pen of the 
monk. I awoke a third time; it was daylight.' 

"So passed the morning of the thirty-first of October, 
15 1 7, in the royal castle of Schweinitz. The events of the 
evening at Wittenberg we have already detailed. The 
elector has hardly made an end of -telling his dream when 
the monk comes with his hammer to interpret it." — " His- 
tory of Protestantism ," by J. A. Wylie } Vol. I } page 263. 
The Publication of Luther's Theses 

"The day on which the monk of Wittenberg posted up 
his Theses, occupies a distinguished place among the great 
days of history. It marks a new and grander starting- 
point in religion and liberty. The propositions of Luther 
preached to all Christendom that God does not sell pardon, 
but bestows it as a free gift on the ground of the death of 
his Son; the Theses, in short, were an echo of the song sung 
by the angels on the plain of Bethlehem fifteen centuries 
before: 'On earth peace, good will toward men.' 



36 ' The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

"Luther acted without plan — so he himself afterward 
confessed. His arm would have been unnerved and the 
hammer would have fallen from his grasp had he been 
told that its strokes would not merely scare away Tetzel 
and break up the market at Juterbock, but would resound 
through Christendom, and centuries after he had gone to 
his grave toould be sending back their echoes in the fall of 
hierarchies, and in the overthrow of that throne before 
which Luther was still disposed to bow as the seat of the 
vicai of Christ. 

"Luther's eye did not extend to these remote countries 
and times; he looked only at what was before him — the 
professors and students of the university; his flock in 
Wittenberg in danger of being ensnared; the crowd of 
pilgrims assembled to earn an indulgence — and to the- 
neighboring towns and parts of Germany. These he hoped 
to influence. 

"But far beyond these modest limits was spread the fame 
of Luther's Theses. They contained truth, and truth is 
light, and light must necessarily diffuse itself, and pene- 
trate the darkness on every side. The Theses were found 
to be as applicable to Christendom as to Wittenberg, and as 
hostile to the great indulgence market at Rome as to the 
little one at Juterbock. Now was seen the power of that 
instrumentality which God had prepared beforehand for 
this emergency — the printing-press. Copied with the 
hand, how slowly would these propositions have traveled, 
and how limited the number of persons who would have 
read them! But the printing-presses, multiplying copies, 
sowed them like snowflakes over Saxony. Other printing- 
presses set to work, till speedily there was no country in 
Europe where the Theses of the monk of Wittenberg were 
not as well known as in Saxony. 



Literature and the Reformation 37 

"The moment of their publication was singularly 
opportune; pilgrims from all the surrounding states were 
then assembled at Wittenberg. Instead of buying an 
indulgence they bought Luther's Theses, not one, but 
many copies, and carried them in their wallets to their 
own homes. In a fortnight these propositions were cir- 
culated over all Germany. They were translated into 
Dutch, and read in Holland; they were rendered into 
Spanish, and studied in the cities and universities of the 
Iberian Peninsula. In a month they had made the tour 
of Europe. 'It seemed,' to use the words of Myconius, 
'as if the angels had been carriers.' Copies were offered 
for sale in Jerusalem. In four short weeks Luther's tract 
had become a household book, and his name a household 
word in all Europe. 

"The Theses were the one topic of conversation every- 
where — in all circles, and in all sorts of places. They 
were discussed by the learned in the universities, and by 
the monks in their cells. In the market-place, in the shop, 
and in the tavern, men paused and talked together of the 
bold act and the new doctrine of the monk of Wittenberg. 
A copy was procured and read by Leo X in the Vatican. 

"The very darkness of the age helped to extend the 
circulation and the knowledge of the Theses. The man 
who kindles a bonfire on a mountain top by day will have 
much to do to attract the eyes of even a single parish. He 
who kindles his signal amid the darkness of night will 
arouse a whole kingdom. This last was what Luther had 
done. He had lighted a great fire in the midst of the dark- 
ness of Christendom, and far and wide over distant realms 
was diffused the splendor of that light; and men, opening 
their eyes on the sudden illumination that was brightening 
the sky, hailed the new dawn." — Id., pages 266, 267. 



38 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

Luther's Printers Besieged 

After Luther's appearance before the Roman legate at 
Augsburg, in response to a summons from the Pope for 
him to explain his bold act in nailing the Theses to the door 
of the tower-church in Wittenberg, Luther wrote a narra- 
tive of the Augsburg interview, and prepared the same 
with great care for publication. At the same time, the 
Roman legate wrote to the elector Frederick of Saxony, 
giving his version of the interview. The "wise" elector, 
desirous of hearing both sides, sent the legate's letter to 
Luther, accompanied by a request that Luther would not 
publish his narrative at once, but withhold it for a little 
time. Luther decided to comply with the elector 's request. 
11 But the eagerness of the public," says Wylie, "and the 
cupidity of the printers overreached his caution. The 
printing-house was besieged by a crowd of all ranks and 
ages, clamoring for copies. The sheets were handed out 
wet from the press, and as each sheet was produced, a 
dozen hands were stretched out to clutch it. The author 
was the last person to see his own production. In a few 
days the pamphlet was spread far and near. Luther had 
become not the doctor of Wittenberg only, but. of all Ger- 
many. The whole nation, not less than the youth in the 
university, had been drawn into the study of theology. 
Through the printing-press, Luther's voice reached every 
hearth and every individual in the fatherland." — Id., 
page 285. 

" Its Words Were Battles " 

" It was amazing what activity and vigor of mind Luther 
at this period displayed. Month after month, rather 
week by week, he launched treatise on treatise. These 
productions of his pen, 'like sparks from under the ham- 
mer, each brighter than that which preceded it, ' added 



Literature and the Reformation 39 

fresh force to the conflagration that was blazing on all 
sides. His enemies attacked him; they but drew upon 
themselves heavier blows. . . . 

"It was now, too, that Luther published his famous 
appeal to the emperor, the princes, and the people of Ger- 
many, on the Reformation of Christianity. This was the 
most graphic, courageous, eloquent, and spirit-stirring 
production which had yet issued from his pen. It may 
be truly said of it that its words were battles. The sen- 
sation it produced was immense. It was the trumpet that 
summoned the German nation to the great conflict. 'The 
time for silence,' said Luther, 'is past, and the time to 
speak is come.' And verily he did speak." — Id., page 305. 

Luther's Letter to the Pope 

The following letter written by Luther to the Pope 
while Luther was still rnaintaining his devotion and loy- 
alty to the church, indicates the wonderful effect of his 
writings upon the hearts of men: — 

"Blessed Father! Willyour blessedness deign to turn 
your paternal ears, which are like those of Christ himself, 
toward your poor sheep, and kindly listen to its bleat? 
What shall I do, Most Holy Father? I am unable to bear 
the fierceness of your anger, and know not how to escape it. 
I am asked to retract,. and would hasten to do so could it 
lead to the end proposed by it. But owing to the per- 
secution of my enemies, my writings have been circulated 
far and wide, and are too deeply engraven on men's hearts 
to be effaced. A recantation would only add to the dis- 
honor of the Church of Rome, and raise a universal cry of 
accusation against her." — "History of the Reformation" 
by D'Aubigne, book 3, chap. 1. 

The Wide Distribution of Luther's Works 
"But Germany was no longer the only country in which 



4-0 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

the voice of the Reformer was heard. It had passed the 
frontiers of the empire, and begun to shake the foundations 
of the Roman power in the different states of Christendom. 
Frobenius, the famous printer of Basel, had published the 
collected works of Luther, which were rapidly disposed of. 

"Erasmus was at Louvain when Luther's works arrived 
in the Netherlands. The prior of the Augustines of Ant- 
werp, who had studied at Wittenberg, and according to the 
testimony of Erasmus, held true primitive Christianity, 
and many other Belgians besides, read them with avidity. 
' But, ' says the scholar of Rotterdam, ' those who sought 
only their own interest, and entertained the people with 
old wives ' fables, gave full vent to their groveling fanati- 
cism. ' ' It is not in my power, ' says Erasmus, in a letter 
to Luther, 'to describe the emotions, the truly tragic 
scenes, which your writings have produced.' 

"Frobenius sent six hundred copies of the works into 
France and Spain. They were publicly sold at Paris, and, 
as far as appears, the doctors of Sorbonne then read them 
with approbation. 'It was time,' said several of them, 
'that those engaged in the study of the Holy Scriptures 
should speak thus freely.' In England the works were 
received with still greater eagerness. Spanish merchants 
at Antwerp caused them to be translated into their native 
tongue, and sent them into Spain. 

"Calvin, a learned bookseller of Pa via, carried a great 
number of copies of the works into Italy, and circulated 
them in all the transalpine towns. This learned man was 
animated not by a love of gain, but a desire to contribute 
to the revival of piety. The vigor with which Luther 
maintained the cause of godliness filled him with joy. ' All 
the learned of Italy,' exclaimed he, 'will concur with me; 
and we will see you celebrated in stanzas composed by our 
most distinguished poets.' 



Literature and the Reformation 41 

"Frobenius, in transmitting a copy of the publication 
to Luther, told him all these gladdening news, and added : 
1 1 have disposed of all the copies except ten, and never had 
so good a return.' Other letters also informed Luther of 
the joy produced by his works. 'I am glad,' says he, 
' that the truth gives so much pleasure, although she speaks 
with little learning, and in a style so barbarous.' 

"Such was the commencement of the revival in the 
different countries of Europe. In all countries, if we 
except Switzerland, and even France, where the gospel 
had previously been heard, the arrival of Luther's writings 
forms the first page in the history of the Reformation. A 
printer of Basel diffused these first germs of the truth. 
At the moment when the Roman pontiff entertained hopes 
of suppressing the work in Germany, it began in France, 
the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, England, and Switzerland; 
and now, even should Rome hew down the original trunk, 
what would it avail? The seeds are already diffused over 
every soil." — Id., book 5, chap. 1. 

"The word of Luther had been everywhere heard, in 
cottages and convents, at the fireside of the citizens, in the 
castles of nobles, in academies, and in palaces of kings. 
He had said to Duke John of Saxony: 'Let my life only 
have contributed to the salvation of a single individual, 
and I will willingly consent that all my books perish.' 
Not a single individual, but a great? multitude had found 
light in the writings of the humble doctor; and hence, in all 
quarters, there were men ready to protect him." — Id., 
book 6, chap. 2. 

A Timely Attack With a Formidable Weapon 

"Even before Rome had time to publish her formidable 
bull, Luther published his declaration of war. 'The time 
of silence, ' exclaims he, 'is past; the time for speaking has 



42 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

arrived. The mysteries of Antichrist must at length be 
unveiled.' On the twenty-fourth of June, 1520, he pub- 
lished his famous 'Appeal to His Imperial Majesty and the 
Christian Nobility of Germany, on the Reformation of 
Christianity.' This work was the signal of the attack 
which was at once to complete the rupture and decide 
the victory. . . . 

"This exhortation, being addressed to the German 
nobility, was soon in the hands of all those for whom it was 
intended. It spread over Germany with inconceivable 
rapidity. . . . The ' Address to the German Nobility ' 
was published on the twenty-sixth of June, 1520; and in 
a short time four thousand copies were sold, a number 
at that period unprecedented. The astonishment was 
universal, and the whole people were in commotion. The 
vigor, spirit, perspicuity, and noble boldness by which it 
was pervaded, made it truly a work for the people, who 
felt that one who spoke in such terms truly loved them. 
The confused views which many wise men entertained 
were enlightened. All. became aware of the usurpations 
of Rome. At Wittenberg no man had any doubt what- 
ever that the Pope was Antichrist. Even the elector's 
court, with all its timidity and circumspection, did not dis- 
approve of the Reformer, but only awaited the issue. The 
nobility and the people did not even wait. The nation 
was awakened, and a\ the voice of Luther adopted his 
cause, and rallied around his standard. Nothing could 
have been more advantageous to the Reformer than this 
publication. In palaces, in castles, in the dwellings of the 
citizens, and even in cottages, all are now prepared, and 
made proof, as it were, against the sentence of condemna- 
tion which is about to fall upon the prophet of the people. 
All Germany is on fire; and the bull, come when it may, 
never will extinguish the conflagration." — Id. } chap. j. 



Literature and the Reformation 43 

A Missionary of a New Description 

"Luther's voice was not confined to Wittenberg; and if 
he failed to procure missionaries to carry his instructions 
to distant lands, God provided him with a missionary of a 
new description. The art of printing supplied the place 
of evangelists. The press was destined to make a breach 
in the Roman fortress. Luther had prepared a mine, the 
explosion of which shook the Roman edifice to its very 
foundation. This was his famous treatise on the 
'Babylonish Captivity of the Church,' which appeared 
the sixth of October, 1520. Never had man displayed 
such courage in such critical circumstances." — Id., chap. 6. 

A Wise Queen and a Clever Trick 

"'Luther,' said the doctors of Louvain, on presenting 
themselves before Margaret, regent oi the Netherlands, — 
'Luther is subverting the Christian faith.' 'Who is this 
Luther?' asked the princess. 'An ignorant monk.' 
'Well, then,' replied she, 'do you who are learned and in 
such numbers write against him. The world will credit 
a multitude of learned men sooner than an isolated, ig- 
norant monk.' The doctors of Louvain preferred an 
easier method. They caused a vast pile to be erected 
at their own expense. The place of execution was covered 
with spectators; and students and burghers were seen 
hastening through the crowd, their arms filled with large 
volumes, which they threw into the flames. Their zeal 
edified the monks and doctors; but the trick was after- 
ward discovered. Instead of the writings of Luther, they 
had thrown into the fire the 'Sermons of Discipuli, 
Tartaret,' and other scholastic and popish books. 

"The Count of Nassau, viceroy of Holland, when the 
Dominicans were soliciting the favor of burning the doc- 
tor's books, said to them: 'Go preach the gospel as purely 



44 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

as Luther, and you will have nobody to complain of.'" — 
Id., chap. Q, 

Luther's Activity at the Wartburg 

"What Luther called the unbecoming indolence of his 
prison, was labor almost above men's utmost strength. 
'I am here every day,' said he (May 14), 'in idle- 
ness and luxury ' (referring doubtless to his fare, which 
at first was not quite so coarse as he had been accustomed 
to). 'I read the Bible in Hebrew and Greek; I am going 
to write a discourse in German on auricular confession; I 
will continue the translation of the psalms, and compose a 
collection of sermons as soon as I get from Wittenberg what 
I require. I write without intermission;' and yet these 
were only a part of Luther's labors. 

"His enemies thought that if he were not dead, at all 
events his voice would not again be heard; but their joy 
was of short duration, and the world was not left long in 
doubt whether he were alive. A multitude of writings, 
composed in the Wartburg, appeared in rapid succession, 
and the cherished voice of the Reformer was everywhere 
received with enthusiasm. Luther published at once 
works fitted to edify the church, and polemical treatises, 
which interrupted the too hasty joy of his enemies. For 
nearly a year he instructed, exhorted, rebuked, and thun- 
dered from his mountain top; and his adversaries, con- 
founded, asked whether there were not some supernatural 
mystery in this prodigious activity." — Id., bookg, chap. 2. 

Translation of the Scriptures by Luther 

"While Luther was thus combating error, as if he 
had still been upon the field of battle, he was at work in 
his retreat as if he were a stranger to everything that was 
taking place in the world. The moment had arrived when 
the Reformation was to pass from the speculations of 



Literature and the Reformation 45 

theologians into common life; and yet the great instru- 
ment by which this transaction was to be effected was not 
yet in existence. This wondrous and mighty engine, 
destined to assail the edifice of Rome from all quarters 
with bolts which would demolish its walls, to lift off the 
enormous weight under which the Papacy held down the 
half-suffocated church, and give to humanity itself an 
impulse which it should retain to the latest ages, was to 
come forth from the old castle of the Wartburg, and enter 
the world vith the Reformer the very day when his cap- 
tivity should terminate. 

"The farther the church was removed from the period 
when Jesus Christ, the true light of the world, dwelt in it, 
the more need she had of the lamp of the Word of God, 
which was to transmit the brightness of Jesus Christ un- 
impaired to the latest ages. But this Divine Word was 
then unknown to the people. Attempts at translation — 
from the Vulgate in 1477, 1490, and 1518 — had succeeded 
ill, were almost unintelligible, and, from their high price, 
beyond the reach of the people. It had even been pro- 
hibited to give the Bible to the Germanic church in the 
vulgar tongue. Besides, the number of those able to read 
was hconsiderable, so long as there was no work in the 
Germm tongue of deep and universal interest. 

"Luther was called to give the Scriptures to his country. 
The same God who withdrew^ St. John to Patmos, 
there to write his Revelation, had shut up Luther in the 
Wartburg, to translate his Word. This great work, which 
it would have been difficult for him to undertake amid the 
distractions and occupations of Wittenberg, was destined 
to establish the new edifice on the primitive rock, and bring 
hack Christians, after so many ages of scholastic subtle- 
tes, to the pure and primary source of redemption and 
salvation." — Id., chap. 5. 



46 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

Germany's Need of " the Revelation of God " • 
"The numerous and powerful lines which had for ages 
chained and bound Christians, were broken, destroyed, 
and scattered in fragments around him; arid he nobly 
raised his head, free of everything save the Word. This 
independence of men, this submission to God, which he 
had learned in the Holy Scriptures, he wished the church 
to possess. But in order to accomplish this, it was neces- 
sary to give her back the revelation of God. It was neces- 
sary that a mighty hand should throw back the ponderous 
gates of that arsenal of the Word of God in which Luther 
himself had found his armor, and that those vaults and 
ancient halls which no foot had traversed for ages, should 
be again opened wide to the Christian people ior the day 
of battle. 

"Luther had already translated different portions of the 
Holy Scriptures; the seven penitential psalms had been 
his first labor. Jesus Christ, John the Baptist! and the 
Reformation alike began with the doctrine of repentance, 
which is the beginning of renovation in the individual and 
in the race. These essays had been received with avidity, 
all wished for more; and this call from the people was to 
Luther a call from God himself. He formed the design 
of responding to it. He was a captive behind higlj walls. 
True ! He will employ his leisure in transferring th^ Word 
of God into the language of his people. This Word will 
shortly descend with him from the Wartburg; it wi\l then 
circulate among the population of Germany, and put tr\em 
in possession of spiritual treasures — treasures hitherto 
shut up within the hearts of a few pious men. 'Let t|iis 
single Book,' exclaims he, 'be in all tongues, in all hards, 
before all eyes, in all ears, and in all hearts.' Admirable 
words! which a distinguished society for translating the 
Bible into the languages of all nations, is now, after three 



Literature and the Reformation 47 

centuries, engaged in carrying into effect. 'The Scrip- 
tures, without any commentary,' says he on another 
occasion, 'Is the sun from which all teachers receive 
light.' . . . 

"Luther cpened the Greek text of the evangelists and 
apostles, anc undertook the difficult task of making these 
inspired teaciers speak his mother tongue, — an important 
epoch in the history of the Reformer. The Bible came 
forward, Lu her drew back; God showed himself, and man 
disappeared The Reformer had placed the Book in the 
hands of hiscontemporaries. Every one can now listen to 
God himsel. As for Luther, he from this time mingles - 
in the crowi, and takes his place among those who come 
to draw atche common fountain of light and life. 
— Id., chti). 5. 

The New Testament Published in German 

"The minting of the New Testament was begun and 
carried »n with unexampled zeal. It seemed as if the 
workmei themselves felt the importance of the work 
which tiey were preparing. Three presses were employed, 
and tien a thousand sheets were printed daily. 

"At length, on the twenty-first of September, appeared 
the cemplete edition of three thousand copies, in two 
volums, folio, with this simple title, 'The New Testa- 
ment—German — Wittenberg.' It bore no human 
narre. Every German could thenceforth procure the 
Wcrdof God for a moderate sum (a florin and a half, about 
ha/ a crown sterling, sixty cents). 

'The new translation, written in the very spirit of the 
sared books, in a language still recent, and displaying its 
mny beauties for the first time, seized, enraptured, and 
deply impressed the humblest of the people, as well as the 
rost elevated classes. It was a national w T ork; it was the 



48 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

people's book; it was more, it was truly the Bo<?k of God. 
Even enemies could not withhold their approbation of the 
admirable work, while some indiscreet friends of the Refor- 
mation, struck with the beauty of the work, imagined 
that they beheld in it a second inspiration. This trans- 
lation did more to propagate Christian piety than all the 
other writings of Luther. The work of the skteenth cen- 
tury was thus placed on a basis which could not be shaken. 
The Bible given to the people brought back the human 
mind, which for ages had been wandering in the tortuous 
labyrinth of scholastics, to the divine source cf salvation. 
Accordingly the success of the work was proclgious. In 
a short time all the copies were disposed of. A second 
edition appeared in December; and in 1533, seventeen 
editions of Luther's New Testament had bem printed 
at Wittenberg, thirteen at Augsburg, twelve at Basel, one 
at Erfurt, one at Grimma, one at Leipzig, thirteen at 
Strassburg. . . . Such were the mighty engines 
which lifted and transformed the church of the Vorld. 

The Old Testament 

"The first edition of the New Testament was sill at 
press when Luther engaged in the translation of tie Old 
Testament. This work, begun in 1522, was prosecuted 
without interruption. It was published in parts as t was 
finished, in order more rapidly to satisfy the impaience 
which was manifested in all quarters, and make itrr.ore 
easy for the poor to purchase it. . . . 

"But if the Bible was thus joyfully received by these 
who loved Christ, it was repulsed with hatred by thee 
who preferred the traditions and practises of men. Violet 
persecution awaited this work of the Reformer. On hea- 
ing of Luther's publication, Rome trembled. The pQ 
which transcribed the sacred oracles was the realizatio 



Literature and the Reformation 49 

of that which the elector Frederick had seen in his dream, 
and which, reaching as far as the Seven Hills, had caused 
the tiara of the Papacy to totter. The monk in his cell 
and the prince on his throne sent forth a cry of rage. 
Ignorant priests shuddered at the thought that every 
citizen, every peasant even, would now be in a condition 
to debate with them on sacred subjects. . . . But 
who can arrest the triumphant progress of the gospel? 
'Even since my prohibition,' wrote Duke George (of Sax- 
ony), 'several thousand copies have been sold and read in 
my states.' 

Catholics Become Publishers 
"God, in diffusing his Word, made use of the very hands 
which were endeavoring to destroy it. The Catholic 
theologians, seeing it impossible to suppress the Reformer 's 
work, published the New Testament in a translation of 
their own. It was Luther's translation with occasional 
corrections by the editors. No objection was made to the 
reading of it. Rome knew not as yet that wherever the 
Word of God is established, her power is in danger. Joa- 
chim of Brandenburg gave full permission to his subjects 
to read any translation of the Bible, Latin or German, 
provided it came not from Wittenberg. The inhabitants 
of Germany, those of Brandenburg in particular, thus 
made a rapid advance in the knowledge of the truth. 

A Change in Christendom 

"The publication of the New Testament constitutes an 
important epoch in the Reformation. If the marriage of 
Feldkirchen was the first step in passing from doctrine to 
practise, if the abolition of monastic vows was the second* 
if the establishment of the Lord's Supper was the third, 
the publication of the New Testament was perhaps the 
most important of all. . . . When the Bible began to 



50 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

be read in the households of Christendom, Christendom 
was changed. There were thenceforth new customs, new 
manners, new conversations, a new life. With the publi- 
cation of the New Testament the Reformation came forth 
from the school and the church and took possession of the 
fireside of the people. 

"The effect produced was immense. The Christianity 
of the primitive church, brought forth by the publication 
of the Holy Scriptures from the oblivion into which it had 
fallen for ages, was thus presented to the eyes of the nation; 
and this fact is sufficient to justify the attacks which had 
been made upon Rome. The humblest individuals, — pro- 
vided they knew the German alphabet, — women, and 
mechanics (this is the account given by a contemporary, a 
great enemy of the Reformation), read the New Testament 
with avidity. Carrying it about with them, they soon 
knew it by heart, while its pages gave full demonstration 
of the perfect accordance between the Reformation of 
Luther and the revelation of God." — Id., chap. q. 

How Luther Became Interested in the Scriptures 

11 It was the accidental sight of a copy of one of Guten- 
berg's Bibles in the library of the convent of Erfurt, where 
Luther was in training for a monk, that fixed his destiny 
for life. He opened it, and read with inexpressible delight 
the history of Hannah and her son Samuel. 'O God!' he 
murmured, 'could I but have one of these books, I would 
ask no other treasure. ' A great revolution forthwith took 
place in his soul. He read, and studied, and meditated, 
until he fell seriously ill. Dr. Staupitz, a man of rank in 
the church, was then inspecting the convent at Erfurt, in 
which Luther had been for two years. He felt powerfully 
attracted toward the young monk, and had much confi- 
dential intercourse with him. Before leaving, Staupitz 



Literature and thef Reformation 51 

presented Luther with a copy of the Bible, — a Bible all to 
himself, which he could take with him to his cell and study 
there. 'For several years,' said Luther afterward, 'I read 
the whole Bible twice in every twelvemonth. It is a great 
and powerful tree, each word -of which is a mighty branch; 
each of these branches have I shaken, so desirous was I to 
learn what fruit they every one of them bore, and what 
they could give me.' 

His Desire to Translate the Scriptures 
''This Bible of Luther's was, however, in the Latin 
Vulgate, a language known only to the learned. Several 
translations had been printed in Germany by the end of 
the fifteenth century; but they were unsatisfactory ver- 
sions, unsuited for popular reading, and were compara- 
tively little known. One of Luther's first thoughts, there- 
fore, was to translate the Bible into the popular speech, 
so that the people at large might have free access to the 
unparalled book. Accordingly, in 1521, he began the 
translation of the New Testament during his imprison- 
ment in what he called his Patmos, the castle of Wart- 
burg. It was completed and published in the following 
year; and two years later his Old Testament appeared. 

God's Latest and Greatest Gift 
"None valued more than Luther did the invention of 
printing. ' Printing, ' said he, ' is the latest and greatest 
gift by which God enables us to advance the things of the 
gospel.' Printing was, indeed, one of the prime agents of 
the Reformation. The ideas had long' been born, but 
printing gave them wings. Had the writings of Luther 
and his fellow laborers been confined only to such copies 
as could have been made by hand, they would have re- 
mained few in number, been extremely limited in their 
effects, and could easily have been suppressed and des- 



52 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

troyed by authority. But the printing-press enabled 
them to circulate by thousands all over Germany. Luther 
was the especial favorite of the printers and booksellers. 
The former took pride in bringing out his books with 
minute care, and the latter in circulating them. A large 
body of ex-monks lived by traveling about and selling 
them all over Germany. They also flew abroad, into 
Switzerland, Bohemia, France, and England." — V The Hu- 
guenots," by Samuel Smiles, pages 21-23. 

Spring-Time in Germany 
"Everywhere, as in the first breathings of spring, the 
seed was seen bursting forth from the ground without 
effort, and, as it were, spontaneously. Every day gave 
evidence of new progress. Individuals, villages, burghs, 
whole towns, united in the new confession of the name of 
Jesus Christ. There was stern resistance and dreadful 
persecution; but the mysterious power which urged for- 
ward the people was irresistible, and the persecuted, 
hastening on and advancing, amid exile, imprisonment, 
and scaffolds, were everywhere succeeding against the 
persecutors." — "History of the Reformation" by D'Au- 
bigne, book Q, chap. 11. 

The Word Did the Whole Business 
The following is Luther's testimony to the power of the 
Word of God : — 

"I am ready to preach, argue, write, — but I will not 
constrain any one; for faith is a voluntary, act. I stood up 
against pope, indulgences, and papists; but without violence 
or tumult. I brought forward God's Word; I preached 
and wrote, and there I stopped. And while I laid me 
down and slept, or chatted with Ansdorff and Melanchthon, 
. . . the word I had . preached brought down the 
power of the Pope to the ground, so that never prince or 



Literature and the Reformation 53 

emperor had dealt it such a blow. For my part I did 
next to nothing: the power of the Word did the whole 
business. Had I appealed to force, Germany might have 
been deluged with blood. But what would have been the 
consequence? — Ruin and destruction of soul and body. 
Accordingly, I kept quiet, and let the word run through 
the length and breadth of the land. Know you what the 
devil thinks when he sees men resort to violence to spread 
the gospel through the world? Seated behind the fire 
of hell, and folding his arms, with a malignant glance and 
horrid leer, Satan says, ' How good it is in yonder madmen 
to play into my hands. ' But only let him see the Word 
of the Lord circulating, and working its way unaided on 
the field of the world, and at once he is disturbed at his 
work, his knees smite each other, he trembles, and is 
ready to die with fear." — Id., book g. 

The Mighty Engine of the Reformation 

"Printing, that mighty engine which the fifteenth cen- 
tury had invented, seconded all these efforts, and by means 
of its powerful projectiles, was continually making breaches 
in the walls of the enemy. 

"In Germany an immense impulse was given to popular 
literature. Up to 15 17, only thirty-five publications had 
appeared; but the number increased with astonishing 
rapidity after the publication of Luther's Theses. In 
1518, we find seventy-one different works; in 1519, one 
hundred and eleven; in 1520, two hundred and eight; in 
1 52 1, two hundred and eleven; in 1522, three hundred and 
forty-seven; in 1523, four hundred and ninety-eight. 
. And where were all these published ? — Almost 
invariably at Wittenberg. And who was their author? 
— Most frequently, Luther. In 1522, two hundred and 
thirty writings of the Reformer appeared; and in the 



54 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

following year, one hundred and eighty-three. This same 
year the whole of the Catholic publications amounted to 
only twenty." — Id., chap. n. 

Luther's writings, bound in modern form, make sixty- 
seven volumes, each fully one inch thick, and together 
filling a six-foot shelf. The full set in German, in both old 
and modern binding, may be seen in the Luther library 
and museum in Erfurt, where he first discovered a copy 
of the Bible. 

Substitute Activity for Idleness 

"What Luther and his friends composed, others dis- 
seminated. Monks, convinced of the unlawfulness of 
monastic ties, desirous to substitute a life of activity for 
long idleness, but too ignorant to be themselves preachers 
of the word, traversed the provinces, and visited the ham- 
lets and huts, selling the works of Luther and his friends. 
Germany was soon covered with these bold colporteurs. 
Printers and booksellers eagerly received all the writings 
in defense of the Reformation, but declined those of the 
opposite party, which were usually a mere compound of 
ignorance and barbarism. When any one of them ven- 
tured to sell a book in favor of the Papacy, and to expose 
it at fairs, at Frankfort or elsewhere, dealers, purchasers, 
or literary men assailed him with a shower of derision and 
sarcasm. In vain had the emperor and the princes issued 
severe edicts against the writings of the Reformers. 
Whenever an inquisitorial visit was to be made, the mer- 
chants, who had secret notice of it, concealed the books 
which were proscribed; and the people, always eager for 
what is sought to be kept from them, afterward got pos- 
session of these writings, and read them more greedily 
than before. These things were not confined to Germany. 
Luther's writings were translated into French, Spanish, 



Literature and the Reformation 55 

English, and Italian, and disseminated among these na- 
tions." — Id., chap. 11. 

Christian Schools and Literature 
"Luther understood this (the need of Christian schools). 
He felt that, in order to secure the Reformation, it was 
necessary to work upon the youth, to improve schools, and 
propagate in Christendom the knowledge necessary to a 
profound study of the Holy Scriptures. Accordingly, 
this was one of the objects of his life. He felt this, par- 
ticularly at the period which we have now reached, and 
applied to the councilors of all the towns of Germany for 
the foundation of Christian schools. 'Dear Sirs,' said he 
to them, 'so much money is annually expended on mus- 
kets, roads, and embankments, why should not a little 
be spent in giving poor youth one or two schoolmasters? 
God is knocking at our door; happy are we if we open to 
him. The Divine Word now abounds. O dear Ger- 
mans, buy, buy, while the market is before your houses! '" 
— Id., book io, chap. g. 

In the Court of France 
"But at the court of Francis I there was an individual 
in particular who seemed prepared for the evangelical 
influence of the doctor of Etaples and the bishop of Meaux. 
Margaret (sister of Francis I, the king), undecided and 
wavering in the midst of the dissolute society around her, 
sought support, and found it in the gospel. Turning to- 
ward the new truth which was reanimating the world, she 
inhaled it with delight as an emanation from heaven. 
Some ladies of her court informed her of what was taught 
by the new teachers. She obtained their works and small 
treatises called, in the language of the times, 'tracts.' She 
heard the expressions 'primitive church,' 'pure Word of 
God,' 'worship in spirit and in truth,' ' Christian liberty 



56 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

which shakes off superstition and human traditions, and 
attaches itself to none but God.' Shortly after, this 
princess became personally acquainted with Lefevre, 
Farel, and Roussel; she was struck with everything 
about them, — their zeal, their piety, and their manners; 
but her principal guide in the way of faith was the bishop 
of Meaux, with whom she had long been intimate." 
Id., book 12, chap. 4. 

Luther's Writings Condemned in France 

"On the twentieth of January, 1520, the censor of the 
French nation purchased twenty copies of Luther's con- 
ference with Dr. Eck, for the purpose of distributing them 
among the members of the company who were to report 
on this affair. More than a year was employed in the 
investigation. The Reformation of Germany was be- 
ginning to make an immense sensation in France. The 
universities, which were then institutions of true Catholic- 
ity, and which were attended by crowds of students from 
all countries of Christendom, brought Germany, France, 
Switzerland, and England into closer and readier con- 
nection in regard to theology and philosophy than is the 
case at the present day. The noise which Luther's work 
had made at Paris, strengthened the hands of the Lefevres, 
Briconnets, and Farels. Each of his victories animated 
them with courage. Several of the doctors of Sorbonne 
were struck with the admirable truths which they found 
in the writings of the monk of Wittenberg. Candid con- 
fessions were made; but at the same time fierce opposition 
was aroused. 'All Europe,' says Crevier, 'was anxiously 
awaiting the decision of the University of Paris.' The 
struggle seemed doubtful; but at last Beda (syndic of the 
Sorbonne) carried the day. In April, 1521, the university 
decided that Luther 's works should be publicly committed 



Literature and the Reformation 57 

to the flames, and that their author should be compelled 
to recant." — Id., chap. 5. 

Translation of the Scriptures Into French 
"Lefevre wished to enable the Christians of France to 
read the Holy Scriptures. On the thirtieth of October, 
1522, he published the French translation of the four 
Gospels, and on the sixth of November, that of the other 
books of the Xew Testament. On the twelfth of October, 
1524, Collin, at Meaux, published a volume containing the 
whole of the books thus translated; and in 1525, a French 
version of the Psalms. Thus began in France, almost at 
the same time as in Germany, the preaching and dissemina- 
tion of the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue — a procedure 
which was, three centuries afterward, to be carried to so 
great an extent over the whole world. . . . They 
were read in families and in the closet; and conversation 
on the Bible became frequent; Christ appeared to their 
long-bewildered spirits as the sun and center of all revela- 
tion. There was no more need of demonstrations to prove 
to them that the Scriptures were from the Lord. This 
they knew, for it had transformed them from darkness to 
light. 

"Such was the progress by which distinguished indi- 
viduals in France arrived at the knowledge of God." - — 
Id., chap. 7. 

France and the Religious Tract Hawking Society 
"But these Frenchmen were not only men of prayer; 
never did an evangelical army number soldiers more ready 
to devote their persons in the hour of battle. They saw 
the importance of diffusing the Holy Scriptures and pious 
books in their country, still immersed in the darkness of 
superstition. A spirit of inquiry circulated over the whole 
kingdom; it was necessary to give it wings. Anemond, 



58 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

always prompt in action, and Michael Bentin, another 
refugee, resolved to unite their zeal, their talents, their 
means, and their labors. Bentin wished to establish 
a printing-press at Basel; and the knight, in order to turn 
to profit the little that he knew of German, proposed to 
translate the best works of the Reformation into French. 
In the joy which their prospect inspired, they exclaimed: 
'Would to God that France were completely filled with 
Gospel volumes, so that everywhere, in the cottages of the 
poor and the palaces of the great, in cloisters and presby- 
teries, and in the inner sanctuary of the heart, a powerful 
testimony might be borne to Jesus Christ!' 

"Such an enterprise required friends, and the refugees 
had nothing. At this time Vaugris was at Basel, and 
Anemond, on his departure, sent by him a letter to the 
brethren of Lyons, several of whom were rich in worldly 
goods, and who, though oppressed, were always faithful in 
the gospel. He asked them to send him some assistance. 
But this was not enough. The French wished to estab- 
lish several presses in Basel, which, working night and 
day, might inundate France with the Word of God. At 
Meaux and Metz, and other places besides, were men rich 
enough and powerful enough to aid in this enterprise. 
No man could address Frenchmen with so much author- 
ity as Farel. To him, therefore, Anemond turned. 

"It does not appear that the knight's scheme was real- 
ized; but the work was done by others. The presses of 
Basel were constantly employed in printing French -books. 
These were sent to Farel, who was unremitting in intro- 
ducing them into France. One of the first productions 
sent by this religious tract society was the 'Exposition 
of the Lord's Prayer,' by Luther. The merchant Vaugris 
wrote Farel: 'We sell the tract of the "pater" at four 
deniers of Basel, by retail; but wholesale we sell two hun- 
dred for two florins, which is not so much.' 



Literature and the Reformation 59 

"From Basel, Anemond sent Farel all the useful books 
which appeared there, or arrived from Germany; one of 
these was a treatise on the training of Christian ministers, 
and another on the education of children. Farel examined 
these writings. He composed, translated, or procured 
others to translate into French. He appeared to be at 
once all action and all study. Anemond urged on and 
superintended the press; and these epistles, these prayers, 
these books, all these flying sheets, were the means of re- 
generating the age. While dissipation came forth from 
the throne, and darkness from the steps of the altar, these 
unobserved writings sent over the nation rays of light and 
seeds of holiness. 

"But it was the Word of God, above all, that the 
evangelical merchant of Lyons demanded in the name of 
his countrymen. This people of the sixteenth century, 
hungering for intellectual food, were to receive, in their 
own tongue, those ancient monuments of the first ages 
of the world, and inhale the new breath of primitive 
humanity, together with those holy oracles of gospel times 
in which the fulness of the Christian revelation is dis- 
played. Vaugris wrote to Farel: 'I pray you, if it be 
possible, to get a translation of the New Testament by 
some man able to make it. It would be a great boon to 
France, Burgundy, and Savoy. And if it was necessary 
to have a French letter (printing types), I would cause it 
to be procured from Paris or Lyons; if good ones can be 
got at Basel, so much the better.' 

"Before this time the books of the New Testament in 
French, but in detached parts, had been published by 
Lefevre at Meaux. Vaugris wished that some one would 
revise the whole, and superintend a complete edition. 
Lefevre undertook the task, and published it, as we have 
already said, on the twelfth of October, 1524. An uncle 



60 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

of Vaugris, named Conrard, a refugee at Basel, immedi- 
ately procured a copy of it. On the eighteenth of Novem- 
ber, Chevalier de Coct, at the house of a friend, saw the 
book, and was overjoyed. 'Haste, and get it reprinted,' 
said he, 'for I doubt not that a very great number will 
be disposed of.' 

"Such was the principal means by which these writings 
were diffused. Farel and his friends entrusted the books 
to some dealers or hawkers, simple and pious men, who, 
bearing their precious burden, went from town to town, 
village to village, and house to house in Franche-Comte, 
Lorraine, Burgundy, and the neighboring provinces, 
knocking at every door. These books were given them at 
a low price, ' in order that they might feel desirous to sell 
them.' Thus, asearly as 1524, there was in Basel, for the 
benefit of France, a Bible and Religious Tract Hawking 
Society. It is an error to suppose that these take their 
date from our age. In their essential idea', they go back 
not only to the period of the Reformation, but to the first 
ages of the church." — Id., chap. 12. 

The Huguenots the Offspring of the Bible 
"In the dawn of this disastrous reign (Francis I) the 
Huguenots first appear. They were the direct offspring 
of the Bible. As the Sacred Volume, multiplied by the 
printing-presses of Germany, first made its way into 
France, it was received as a new revelation. Before 
Luther had published his Theses, it is said, there were 
Protestants at Paris; and wherever the Bible came, it was 
certain to found a church." — " Historical Studies," by 
Eugene Lawrence, page 248. 

A Religious Revolution in France 
"When the Bible, in its modern translation, was laid 
before the people, a wonderful religious revolution swept 



Literature and the Reformation 61 

over France. Nearly the whole working class became 
Protestants. The great manufacturing towns were con- 
verted at once from Romanism to the faith of St. Paul. 
Almost every eminent artisan or inventor was a Huguenot. 
Stephen, the famous printer; Palissy, the chief 'of potters; 
the first French sculptor, Go uj on; the great surgeon, Pare; 
and a throng of their renowned companions, shrank from 
the mass as idolatrous, and lived by the precepts of the 
Bible. The professors of the College of France and the 
ablest of living scholars adopted the principles of reform. 
The impulse spread to nobles and princes. The houses 
of Bourdon and Navarre were nearly all Huguenots. 
Marguerite, the sister of Francis, became the chief support 
of the Reformers, and the king himself seemed for a mo- 
ment touched and softened by the sacred language of 
inspiration. The Bible ruled over the rejoicing French. 
Of the wonderful power of this wide reform it is impossible 
to speak without enthusiasm. Swiftly # there spread over 
the manufacturing towns of France a reign of saintly 
purity. Men once more shrank from vice and clung to 
virtue. The gross habits of the middle ages were thrown 
aside; the taverns and theaters were deserted, and the 
morris-dancers and jongleurs no longer amused; the rude 
dissipation of the peasantry, the licentious fetes of priests 
and nobles, awakened only disgust; but in every village 
prayer-meetings were held, and the Bible was studied by 
throngs of eager students, who, for the first time were now 
enabled to listen to the voice of inspiration." — Id., pages 
249, 250. 

An Electric Shock to Diseased and Decaying 
France 

"Jacques Lefevre, the translator of the Bible into 
French, a man of nearly seventy, and the young and bril- 



62 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

liant Farel, his faithful associate, preached to the working 
men of Meaux, and distributed among them copies of the 
Gospels. At once the mass was deserted, the priest con- 
temned, and eager throngs listened to the daring mission- 
aries who Ventured to unfold the long-forgotten truth. 
A swift and graceful transformation passed over the busy 
town. No profane word was any longer uttered, no rib- 
aldry nor coarse jests were heard. Drunkenness and 
disorder disappeared; vice hid in the monastery or the 
cloister. In every factory the Gospels were read as a 
message from above, and the voice of prayer and thanks- 
giving mingled with the clamor of the shuttle and the 
clash of the anvil. The rude and boisterous artisans were 
converted into refined and gentle believers, ever seeking 
for the pure and the true; and the sudden impulse toward 
a higher life awakened at Meaux by the teachings of Farel 
and Lefevre stirred, like an electric shock, every portion of 
diseased and decaying France." — Id., pages 250, 251. 

"'Then,' adds Palissy, 'might be seen, on Sundays, 
bands of work-people walking cheerfully in the meadows, 
groves, and fields, singing spiritual songs together, or 
reading to one another from the sacred volumes; young 
girls and maidens chanting hymns beneath the pleasant 
shade; boys, with their teachers, full of a steadfast purpose 
to live a noble life. The very countenances of the people,' 
he asserts, 'were changed; the coarse lines of sensuality 
had been swept away, and from every face shone only 
benevolence and truth.' "—Id., pages 251, 252. 

The Church Versus the Bible; the Printers 
Versus the Popes 

• "There now began a remarkable contest between the 
Romish Church and the Bible — between the printers and 
the popes. For many centuries the Scriptures had been 



Literature and the Reformation 63 

hidden in a dead language, guarded by the anathemas of 
the priests from the public eye, and so costly in manuscript 
form as to be accessible only to the wealthy. A Bible 
cost as much as a landed estate; the greatest universities, 
the richest monasteries, could scarcely purchase a single 
copy. Its language and its doctrines had long been for- 
gotten by the people, and in their place the intellect of the 
middle ages had been fed upon extravagant legends and 
monkish visions, the fancies of idle priests, the fables of the 
unscrupulous. The wonders worked by a favorite image, 
the virtues of a relic, the dreams of a dull abbot or a fanat- 
ical monk, had supplanted the modest teachings of Peter 
and the narrative of Luke. Men saw before them only 
the imposing fabric of the Church of Rome, claiming su- 
premacy over the conscience and the reason, pardoning 
sins, determining doctrines, and had long ceased to re- 
member that there was a Redeemer, a Bible, even a God. 
A practical atheism followed. The Pope was often a 
skeptic, except as to his own right to rule. The church and 
the monasteries teemed with the vices depicted by Rabe- 
lais and Erasmus. Then, in the close of the fifteenth 
century, a flood of light was poured upon mankind. The 
new art of printing sprang into sudden maturity, and great 
numbers of Bibles were scattered among the people. They 
were sought for with an avidity, studied with an eager- 
ness, received with an undoubting faith, such as no later 
age has witnessed. Arrayed in the charm of entrancing 
novelty, the simple story of the Gospels and the noble 
morals of the epistles, translated for the first time into 
common dialects, descended as if newly written by the 
pen of angels upon the minds of men. 

"Every honest intellect was at once struck with the 
strange discrepancy between the teaching of the Sacred 
Volume and that of the Church of Rome. 



64 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

Medieval Romanism in the Light of the Scriptures 

"No religion, indeed, seemed less consistent with itself 
than that of medieval Romanism. The Mohammedan of 
the fifteenth century still clung with tenacity to the minute 
requirements of the Koran; the Jew obeyed in every par- 
ticular the injunctions of the decalogue; the Greeks and 
Romans had suffered few alterations in the rituals of Ju- 
piter and Diana. But it was found, upon the slightest 
inspection, that there was no authority for the Romish 
innovations in any portion of the Scriptures. There was 
no purgatory, no mass, no papal supremacy, no monaster- 
ies, no relics working miracles, no images, no indulgences 
to be found in the book that contained the teachings of 
Christ and his apostles. The inference was at once every- 
where drawn that the theories of the Roman Church were 
founded upon imposture; and when, at the same time, the 
shameless lives of its priests and popes were brought before 
the public eye by satirists and preachers, its gross cor- 
ruption was believed to be the necessary result of its want 
of truthfulness; its cruelty and violence seemed the off- 
spring of its unhallowed sensuality and pride. The Bible 
alone could now satisfy the active intellect of France; the 
Bible awoke anew the simple church of the apostolic age. 

"To the Bible the popes at once declared a deathless 
hostility. To read the Scriptures was in their eyes the 
grossest of crimes; for they confessed by their acts that he 
who reads must cease to be a Romanist. Said Paul IV: 
'A heretic never repents; it is an evil for which there is no 
remedy but fire.' 

Persecution, War, the Inquisition, and the Jesuits 

"Not murder, robbery, nor any other offense was pun- 
ished with such dreadful severity. The tongues of the 
gentle criminals,, were usually cut out; they were racked 



Literature and the Reformation 65 

until their limbs parted; they were then forced to mount a 
cart, and were jolted over rough streets, in agony, to the 
stake. Here they were burned amid the jeers of the 
priest and the populace. Yet the Bible sustained them in 
their hour of trial, and they died ever with hymns of 
exultation. Great wars were undertaken to drive the 
Sacred Volume from schools and colleges. The Inquisi- 
tion was invested with new terrors, and was forced upon 
France and Holland by papal armies. The Jesuits were 
everywhere distinguished by their hatred for the Bible. 
To burn Bibles was the favorite emplo}~ment of 
zealous Catholics. Wherever they were found, the 
heretical volumes were destroyed by active Inquisitors, 
and thousands of Bibles and Testaments perished in 
every part of France. 

The Fertile Press 

"Yet the fertile press soon renewed the abundant fruit, 
and the skilful printers of Germany and Switzerland 
poured forth an incessant stream of French, Dutch, and 
English Bibles, besides an infinite number of tracts and 
treatises by eminent Reformers. The demand for these 
books could never be sufficiently supplied. At Nurem- 
berg, Mentz, and Strassburg, there was an eager struggle 
for Luther's smallest pamphlets. Of his catechism one 
hundred thousand were sold. The sheets of his tracts, 
often wet from the press, were hidden under the pur- 
chasers' cloaks and passed from shop to shop. 

The Ominous Clank of the Printing-Press 

% Between the printers and the popes the war now began 
that has never ceased. The clank of the printing-press 
had to the ears of the Italian priesthood an ominous sound. 
'We must destroy printing,' said an English vicar, 'or it 
will destroy us.' 



66 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

Persecution of Printers 

"The Sorbonne of Paris denounced the printers in 1534, 
and burned twenty of them within six months, and one 
woman. . A printer of the Rue Saint Jacques was con- 
demned for publishing Luther's works; a bookseller was 
burned for having sold them. At last the Sorbonne, the 
council of the papal faction, in 1535, obtained a decree 
from the king for the total suppression of printing. 

" Robert Stephens was one of the most eminent printers 
and scholars of the age. From his accurate press at Paris 
had issued Latin Bibles and Testaments of singular excel- 
lence and beauty. But he was a Huguenot, and even the 
favor and protection of the king and the court could not 
shield him from the rage of the Sorbonne. It was dis- 
covered that in the notes of his Latin Bible of 1545 he had 
introduced heretical doctrines. He was persecuted by the 
Faculty of Theology, and fled from France to escape the 
stake. His contemporary, the poet, printer, and scholar, 
Dolet, was burned for atheism in 1546. 

Increasing Tide of Tracts and Bibles 
"Yet the bold printers in Protestant Geneva, Germany, 
and the Low Countries defied the hate of popes and In- 
quisitors, and still poured forth an increasing tide of Prot- 
estant tracts and Bibles. The press waged a ruthless 
war upon the Antichrist at Rome. It founded the re- 
public of Holland, the central fount of modern freedom; 
it reformed England and the North. It filled the common 
schools with Bibles, and instructed nations in the human- 
izing lessons of history. 

Inflicts Deadly Wounds Upon the Papacy 

"From age to age it has never ceased to inflict deadly 
wounds upon the Papacy; until at length even Italy and 
Spain have been rescued from the grasp of the Inquisition 



Literature and the Reformation 67 

and the Jesuits, and have proclaimed the freedom of the 
press. In the city of Rome alone, under the tyranny of an 
infallible pope, the printer lay chained at the mercy of his 
ancient adversary until a recent period; from the domin- 
ions of Pius IX the Protestant Bible, the source of modern 
civilization, was excluded by penalties scarcely less severe 
than those imposed by Pius V. And as once more the 
Italian priests prepare to renew their warfare against the 
printing-press and the Bible in the cities of free America, 
they will encounter, though with new arts and new arms, 
their successful adversary of the Old World. The printer 
once more defies the Pope. He points to the ashes of his 
martyrs, scattered in the waters of the Seine or the Scheldt 
in the sixteenth century; to the prisons of Bologna or of 
Rome, so lately filled with the dying advocates of a free 
press in the nineteenth; to the crimes of Pius IX, no less 
than those of Pius V, as his gage of the battle. 

Calvin and the Geneva Bible Societies 
"More than thirty years of ceaseless persecution, filled 
with scenes of horror, of flourishing seats of industry sacked 
and blighted, of holy men and women martyred with 
incredible sufferings, of dreadful atrocities perpetrated 
in every town and village by the emissaries of the popes, 
had passed over the patient Huguenots before they re- 
solved to take up arms in self-defense. Their gentle 
pastors, with persistent magnanimity, inculcated theories 
of non-resistance. Calvin himself, rigid and severe, still 
urged upon them obedience to their merciless kings. He 
was content to meet the savage barbarism of the Inqui- 
sition with spiritual arms. From his stronghold at Geneva 
he organized his Bible societies, and poured an incessant 
stream of reformed literature over every part of France. 
He cheered the martyrs with austere exhortations; his 
Bible sellers were seen in every secluded path and byway, 



68 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

stealing with fearless faith from congregation to con- 
gregation; his presses at Geneva were never idle; his 'insti- 
tutes' were scattered widely over his native land. During 
this period of suffering, the Huguenots continued to in- 
crease in numbers. Yet their congregations were often 
forced to meet in caves and forests, and to chant in sub- 
dued tones their sacred songs, lest their persecutors might 
break in upon them with fire and sword. Often the pious 
assembly was discovered in its most secret retreat, and 
men, women, and children were massacred by hordes of 
priests and brigands." — Id., pages 254-260. 

Tetzels Also in France 
"The ecclesiastical abuses, which had first evoked the 
indignation of Luther, were not confined to Germany, but 
prevailed all over Europe. There were Tetzels also in 
France, where indulgences were things of common traffic. 
Money must thus be raised, for the building of St. Peter's 
at Rome had to be paid for. Each sin had its price, each 
vice its tax. There was a regular tariff for peccadillos of 
every degree, up to the greatest crimes. The Bible, it need 
scarcely be said, was at open war with this monstrous state 
of things; and the more extensively it was read and its pre- 
cepts became known, the more strongly were these prac- 
tises condemned. Hence the alarm occasioned at Rome 
by the rapid extension of the art of printing and the in- 
creasing circulation of the Bible. Hence also the pro- 
hibition of printing which shortly followed, and the burn- 
ing of the printers who printed the Scriptures, as well as 
the persons who were found guilty of reading them." — 
li The Huguenots ," by Samuel Smiles, page 25. 

Bibles and Testaments Rise From Their Ashes 
"The Sorbonne then proceeded to make war against 
books and the printers of them. Bibles and New Testa- 



Literature and the Reformation 69 

ments were seized wherever found, and burned; but more 
Bibles and Testaments seemed to rise, as if by magic, 
from their ashes. The printers who were convicted of 
printing Bibles were next seized and burned. The Bour- 
geois de Paris gives a detailed account of the human sacri- 
fices offered up to ignorance and intolerance in that city 
during the six months ending June, 1534, from which it 
appears that twenty men and one woman were burned 
alive. One was a printer of the Rue Saint Jacques, found 
guilty of having 'printed the books of Luther.' Another, 
a bookseller, was burned for 'having sold Luther.' In the 
beginning of the following year, the Sorbonne obtained 
from the king an ordinance, which was promulgated on the 
twenty-sixth of February, 1535. for the suppression of 
printing. 

"But it was too late. The art was now full born, and 
could no more be suppressed than light, or air, or life. 
Books had become a public necessity, and supplied a great 
public want, and every year saw them multiplying more 
abundantly." — Id., pages 27, 28. 

The First Index Expurgatorius 

"Further attempts continued to be made by Rome to 
check the progress of printing. In 1599, Pope Paul IV 
issued the first Index Expurgatorius, containing a list of 
the books expressly prohibited by the church. It included 
all Bibles printed in modern languages, of which forty- 
eight editions were enumerated; while sixty-one printers 
were put under a general ban, and all works of every de- 
scription issued from their presses were forbidden. Not- 
withstanding, however, these and similar measures, such as 
the wholesale burning of Bibles wherever found, the cir- 
culation of the Scriptures rapidly increased, and the prin- 
ciples of the Reformation more and more prevailed 
throughout all the northern nations." — Id., pages 2Q,jo. 



7° The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

Dagon in the Presence of the Bible 
"The world is not wide enough to contain both the 
Bible and the Pope. Each claims an undivided empire. 
To suppose that the two can live together at Rome, is to 
suppose an impossibility. The entrance of the one is the 
expulsion of the other. To popery a single Bible is more 
dreadful than an army of ten thousand strong. Let it 
enter, and, as Dagon fell before the ark of old, so surely 
shall the mighty Dagon which has sat enthroned so long 
upon the Seven Hills fall prostrate and be utterly broken. 
Unseal this blessed page to the nations, and farewell to the 
inventions and the frauds, to the authority and the gran- 
deur, of Rome. This is the catastrophe she already appre- 
hends. And therefore, when she meets the Bible in her 
path, she is startled, and exclaims in terror, 'I know thee, 
whom thou art; art thou come to torment me before the 
time?'" — " The Papacy," by J. A. Wylie, page iqo. 

Luther's Ink-Bottle a Formidable Weapon 

The power of literature, when used as a weapon against 
the wiles of Satan, is illustrated by the familiar story of 
Luther's ink-bottle. It is said that on a certain occasion 
Satan appeared to Luther, and presented before him a 
long list of his sins. Luther read them one by one as 
they were pointed out, and acknowledged that he had 
committed them all. At first he was overwhelmed with 
the thought of his sins, and he questioned whether the 
plan of salvation would reach a case like his. But finally, 
he noticed that Satan held his hand over something written 
at the bottom of the list. Luther insisted that Satan 
remove his hand, and he read: "The blood of Jesus Christ 
his Son cleanseth us from all sin." In anger that Satan 
would thus hide the promise that would bring life and 
hope to the sinner, Luther seized his ink-bottle, and hurled 



Literature and the Reformation 71 

it at his adversary, at which the devil fled, and the con- 
tents of the bottle were splashed upon the wall. 

There are other versions of this interesting story, but 
this one will suffice as an illustration. 

Whether this incident actually took place we can not 
tell. It is possible that this is only the figurative language 
in which we are told that when Satan tried to overwhelm 
Luther, by presenting his sins before him, Luther remem- 
bered the precious promise of God, and, seizing his ink- 
bottle and pen, wrote another tract setting forth God's 
provision for salvation and the forgiveness of sins. How- 
ever, the incident in its literal rendering is generally be- 
lieved by the followers of Luther. The. visitor to the 
Wartburg castle- is shown the room where Luther was 
confined, and attention is directed to a great spot upon the 
wall, fully three feet across, where, it is said, the ink was 
j splashed. Visitors have cut away the plaster and lathing, 
and even portions of the beam and studding, bit by bit, in 
the hope of securing as a memento one of the splashes 
from Luther's ink-bottle. 

At first thought, it might appear that such an act on the 
1 part of Luther would be a foolish exhibition of temper; but 
when we consider the part that the ink-bottle played in the 
. Reformation of the sixteenth century, we are convinced 
I that Luther chose the most formidable weapon in the 
j world with which to put to flight the great enemy. 
Whether any traveler has succeeded in securing a splash 
J from Luther's ink-bottle, it is certain that the words of 
life and hope from Luther's pen thrilled the hearts of men 
wherever they were read, and that the splashes from Lu- 
ll ther's ink-bottle left a mark upon Germany and all the 
surrounding countries which could never be effaced, — a 
j mark the influence of which is still felt in every land where 
i Protestantism has gone. 



72 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

An Organized Movement 

The Reformation in Germany, under Luther and Me- 
lanchthon, took on a more definitely organized form than 
any of the movements that had preceded it; and to this 
fact we may attribute, to no small degree, the power and 
success of that movement. It is interesting to note the 
similarity between the plan of operation adopted by Lu- 
ther with which to meet the darkness of popery, and the 
organized system for disseminating light and dispelling 
darkness now being employed by those who are heralding 
to the world the great closing gospel message of warning 
and truth. 

Printers and Wholesalers 

Not only in Germany, but in all the surrounding coun- 
tries, Luther engaged printers to publish his works, and 
arranged with them to supply the publications at cheap 
wholesale prices to colporteurs who were laboring in their 
respective territories. The demand for literature pro- 
duced by the Reformers became so great that it was not 
difficult to secure printers, and the Reformation literature 
rapidly became their chief output. 

Tract Societies 

Luther and his associates also established tract societies, 
which made it their exclusive business to secure colporteurs 
to distribute the Reformation literature. The first of 
these was established at Basel, Switzerland, in 1524, and 
was known as the Religious Tract Hawking Society. It 
is an interesting coincident that the first tract society 
established in connection with the great Reformation of 
the sixteenth century, should have been established in the 
very city where later the first publishing house and tract 
society were established outside of the United States, in 
connection with the work of a people who are doing more 



Literature and the Reformation 73 

perhaps to dispel papal error to-day than any other Prot- 
estant society in the world — the Seventh-day Adventists. 
Scholarships 

The Reformation received its strongest support in some 
of the leading universities of Europe. Indeed, the move- 
ment was largely directed from the univeigity at Witten- 
berg, with which Luther and Melanchthon were connected. 
Young men, whose hearts had been touched by the power 
of the Reformation, flocked to Wittenberg to learn more 
of the great truths that were being taught by the Re- 

■■ formers. In these young men Luther saw the hope of the 
Reformation, — the prospect of strong workers who would 
break the bands of Catholicism, and teach the simple 
gospel. Therefore, to a large degree, the circulation of 

^Reformation literature became a student movement. 
Luther himself says: "We gave them large profits, that 

*they might make their way, and be able to return to 
school." 

Luther as General Agent 

Luther was more than a local organizer of the colporteur 
work. During the school year he taught the young men 
the principles of the gospel, and fired their hearts with 
zeal to carry his writings; then in his lecture chapel he 
^organized them into companies, and sent them out, even 
jbeyond the limits of Germany, to distribute literature 
i under the direction of other Reformers. 

Zwingli as Field Agent 

On seeing the great work that Luther was accomplishing 
1 through his student forces, Zwingli wrote to Luther and 
( asked him to send as many young men as he could spare to 
Switzerland to work during one vacation period. In re- 
sponse, Luther sent forty. Zwingli assigned their terri- 



74 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 






tory, and encouraged them in their work. Shortly after 
their arrival, he wrote to Luther: — 

"I have never before seen such young men as these. 
Their hearts are full of the power of the Reformation, and 
like flaming torches, they go through these valleys of 
Switzerland. Would that we had a hundred instead of 
forty; for then ^e could set the mountains of Switzerland 
on fire." 

What a testimony was this to the work of those faithful 
colporteurs, and how it should inspire the hearts of those 
who are now engaged in similar work to be as earnest and 
brave and faithful as were they. 

Wesley once said: "Give me one hundred men who fear 
nothing but God, who hate nothing but sin, and who are 
determined to know nothing among men but Jesus Christ 
and him crucified, and I will set the world on fire." The 
world to-day needs such men as much as it did in those 
stirring days of the sixteenth century. The final con- 
flict will be the greatest the world has ever seen. God is 
now preparing forces for the final struggle between light 
and darkness, and a great army, of well-trained, devoted 
colporteurs will doubtless be in the van to fight valiantly 
for the truth. 

Thus the work of the sixteenth century was organized, 
and rapidly grew into a mighty movement. The great 
iron pen of Luther, described by the elector of Saxony, in 
narrating his dream, had become "so large that its end 
reached as far as Rome, where it pierced the ears of a lion 
that was crouching there, and caused the triple crown upon 
the head of the Pope to shake." 

The Scriptures in the English Tongue 
"The Reformation of England, perhaps to a greater 
extent than that of the Continent, was effected by the 



Literature and the Reformation 75 

Word of God. . . . These great individuals we meet with 
in Germany, Switzerland, and France, — men like Luther, 
Zwingli, and Calvin, — do not appear in England. But 
Holy Scripture is widely circulated. What brought light 
into the British Isles subsequently to the year 15 17, and on 
a more extended scale after the year 1526, was the Word — 
the invisible power of the invisible God. The religion of 
the Anglo-Saxon race, the race called more than any other 
to circulate the oracles of God throughout the world, is 
particularly distinguished by its Biblical character." — 
11 History of the Reformation" by D'Aubigne, book 18, 
chap. 1. 

But this publication of the Word of God in England 
in the sixteenth century, here referred to, was long after 
the beginning of the Reformation in that country. In 
the year 1380, after ten or fifteen years of labor, Wyclif 
had already completed the translation of the Scriptures 
from the Latin into the English tongue. "This was a 
great event," says D'Aubigne, "in the religious history of 
England, who, outstripping the nations of the Continent, 
took her station in the foremost rank in the great \yprk of 
disseminating the Scriptures." 

The Reception of Wyclif's Translation 

"As soon as the translation was finished, the labor of the 
copyists began, and the Bible was erelong widely cir- 
culated, either wholly or in portions. The reception of 
the work surpassed W T yclif's expectations. The Holy 
Scriptures exercised a reviving influence over men's hearts; 
minds were enlightened; souls were converted; the voice 
of the 'poor priests' (these were Wyclif 's messengers to 
the common people of the day) had done little in com- 
parison to this voice; something new had entered the 



7 6 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

world. Citizens and soldiers and the lower classes wel- 
comed this new era with acclamations; the high-born 
curiously examined the unknown Book; and even Anne of 
Luxemburg, wife of Richard II, having learned English, 
began to read the Gospels diligently. She did more than 
this: she made them known to Arundel, archbishop of 
York and chancellor, and afterward a persecutor, but who 
now, struck at the sight of a foreign lady, of a queen, 
humbly devoting her leisure to the study of such virtuous 
books, commenced reading them himself, and rebuked the 
prelates who neglected this holy pursuit. ' You could not 
'meet two persons on the highway, ' says a contemporary 
writer, 'but one of them was Wyclif's disciple.' 
Clamors of the Clergy 

"Yet all in England did not equally rejoice: the lower 
clergy opposed this enthusiasm with complaints and male- 
dictions. ' Master John Wyclif , by translating the Gospel 
into English, . . . has rendered it more acceptable 
and more intelligible to laymen, and even to women, than 
it had hitherto been to learned and intelligent clerks. 
. . . The gospel pearl is everywhere cast out and 
trodden underfoot of swine.' . . . 

"These clamors did not alarm Wyclif. 'Many nations 
have had the Bible in their own language. The Bible is 
the faith of the church. Though the Pope and all his 
clerks should disappear from the face of the earth,' said he, 
'our faith would not fail; for it is founded on Jesus alone, 
our Master and our God.' 

Friends and Defenders 

"But Wyclif did not stand alone: in the palace as in the 
cottage, and even in Parliament, the rights of Holy Scrip- 
ture found defendants. A motion having been made in 
the upper house (1390) to seize all the copies of the Bible, 
the Duke of Lancaster exclaimed: 'Are we, then, the very 



Literature and the Reformation 77 

dregs of humanity, that we can not possess the laws of our 
religion in our own tongue?' . 

Ihe "Grandfather" of the Reformation 
"Wyclif is the greatest English Reformer: he was, in 
truth, the first Reformer of Christendom; and to him under 
God, Britain is indebted for the honor of being the fore- 
most in the attack upon the theocratic system of Gregory 
VII. The work of the Waldenses, excellent as it was, can 
not be compared to his. If Luther and Calvin are the 
fathers of the Reformation, Wyclif is its grandfather." — 
Id., book 17, chap. 8. 

The Greek New Tes'ament Crosses the Channel 
"The great work of the sixteenth century* was about to 
begin. A volume fresh from the presses of Basel had just 
crossed the Channel. Being transmitted to London, 
Oxford, and Cambridge, this book, the fruit of Erasmus's 
vigils, soon found its way wherever there were friends of 
learning. It was the New Testament of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, published for the first time, in Greek, with a new 
Latin translation — an event more important for the 
world than would have been the landing of the Pretender 
in England, or the appearance of the chief of the Tudors in 
Italy. This book, in which God has deposited for man's 
salvation the seeds of life, was about to effect alone, with- 
out patrons and without interpreters, the most astonishing 
revolution in Britain. 

"The New Testament in Greek and Latin had hardly 
appeared when it was received by all men of upright mind 
with unprecedented enthusiasm. Never had any book 
produced such a sensation. It was in every* hand; men 
struggled to procure it, and read it eagerly, and would 
even kiss it. The words it contained enlightened every 
heart. But a reaction soon took place. 



78 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

A " Howling " Protest 
"Traditional Catholicism uttered a cry from the depths 
of its noisome pools (to use Erasmus's figure). Francis- 
cans, Dominicans, priests and bishops, not daring to 
attack the educated and well-born, went among the ig- 
norant populace, and endeavored, by their tales and clam- 
ors, to stir up susceptible women and credulous men. 
'Here are horrible heresies,' they exclaimed, 'here are 
frightful antichrists; if this book be tolerated, it will be the 
death of the Papacy ; ' ' We must drive this man from the 
university,' said one. 'We must turn him out of the 
church,' added another. 'The public places reechoed 
with their howling, ' said Erasmus. The firebrands tossed 
by their furious hands were raising fires in every quarter; 
and the flames kindled in a few obscure convents threat- 
ened to spread over the whole country. 

This Step Augured Another 
"This irritation was not without a cause. The book, 
indeed, contained nothing but Latin and "Greek; but this 
first step seemed to augur another — the translation of the 
Bible into the vulgar tongue. Erasmus loudly called for 
it. . . . 

"Nothing was more important at the dawn of the Refor- 
mation than the publication of the Testament of Jesus 
Christ in the original language. Never had Erasmus 
worked so carefully. ' If I told what sweat it cost me, no 
one would believe me.'" — Id., book 18, chap. i. 

The Origin of the Reformation in England 
"Thus the English Reformation began independently of 
those of Luther and Zwingli — deriving its origin from 
God alone. In every province of Christendom there was a 
simultaneous action of the Divine Word. The principle 
of the Reformation at Oxford, Cambridge, and London was 



Literature and the Reformation 79 

the Greek New Testament, published by Erasmus. Eng- 
and, in course of time, learned to be proud of this origin 
of its Reformation." — Id., chap. 3. 

"The Greek Testament of Erasmus had been one step; 
and it now became necessary to place before the simple 
what the king of the schools (Erasmus) had given to the 
learned. This idea, which pursued the young Oxford 
doctor (Tyndale) everywhere, was to be the mighty main- 
spring of the English Reformation." — Id., chap. 4. 

Tyndale Resolves to Translate the Scriptures 
"Then a great idea sprang up in Tyndale 's heart. 'It 
was in the language of Israel,' said he. 'that the psalms 
were sung in the temple of Jehovah, and shall not the 
gospel speak in the language of England among us ? 
. . Ought the church to have less light at noonday 
than at dawn? . . . Christians must read the New 
Testament in their mother tongue.' Tyndale believed 
that this idea proceeded from God. . . . 

"While Wolsey sought to win the papal tiara, the 
humble tutor of Sodbury undertook to place the torch 
of heaven in the midst of his fellow countrymen. The 
translation of the Bible shall be the work of his life. . . 
1 If God spares my life, ' said Tyndale to the divines, ' I 
will take care that a plowboy shall know more of the Scrip- 
tures than you do. ' " — Id., chap. 4. 

The Arrival of Luther's Writings 
"While a plain minister was commencing the Reforma- 
tion in a tranquil valley in the west of England, powerful 
reenforcements were landing on the shores of Kent. The 
writings and actions of Luther excited a lively sensation 
in Great Britain. His appearance before the Diet of 
Worms was a common subject of conversation. Ships 
from the harbors of the Low Countries brought his books 



80 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

to London; and the German printers had made answer 
to the nuncio Alexander, who was prohibiting the Lutheran 
works in the empire: 'Very well! we shall send them to 
England!' One might almost say that England was 
destined to.be the asylum of truth. And, in fact, the 
Theses of 15 17, the 'Explanation of the Lord's Prayer,' 
the books against Emser, against the Papacy of Rome, 
against the bull of Antichrist, the ' Epistle to the Galatians,' 
the 'Appeal to the German Nobility,' and above all, the 
'Babylonish Captivity of the Church,' — all crossed the 
sea, were translated, and circulated throughout the king- 
dom. . . . The laity in particular, who had been 
prepared by Wyclif, and disgusted by the avarice and 
disorderly lives of the priests, read with enthusiasm the 
eloquent pages of the Saxon monk. They strengthened 
all hearts." — Id., chap. 5. 

Difficulties and Dangers 
As Tyndale entered upon his great work of translating 
the Bible into the English tongue, he found himself sur- 
rounded with persecution and intrigue inspired by the 
Church of Rome, and followed up by her friends and ad- 
herents in England. There was little hope for success 
on English soil. He therefore went to Hamburg, Ger- 
many, where he began his work; but being beset with 
difficulties, he finally decided to complete his translation, 
and publish his first edition at Cologne. 

Begins Printing the Bible in Cologne 
He had heard of printers in Cologne who "had ware- 
houses in St. Paul's churchyard in London, a circumstance 
that might facilitate the introduction and sale of the Testa- 
ment printed on the banks of the Rhine." He called upon 
the printers, presented his manuscripts, and ordered three 
thousand copies. 



1 



Literature and the Reformation 8 1 

''The printing went on; one sheet followed another; 
gradually the gospel unfolded its mysteries in the English 
tongue, and Tyndale could not contain himself for joy. 
He saw in his mind's eye the triumph of the Scriptures 
over all the kingdom, and exclaimed with transport: 
'Whether the king wills it or not, erelong all the people 
of England, enlightened by the New Testament, will obey 
the gospel.' " 

His Vessel Strikes a Reef 
But soon his joy was hidden by thick clouds. One day 
when the tenth sheet was on the press, the printer hastened 
to Tyndale, and informed him that the senate of Cologne 
forbade him to continue the work. His project was doubt- 
less discovered, and orders had been given for his manu- 
scripts and sheets to be seized. "Alas! his vessel, which 
was moving onward in full sail, had struck upon a reef." 

Flight up the Rhine 

At first he was cast down; but soon, remembering that 
God would not forsake him, he decided to anticipate the 
action of the senate. With the assistance of his clerk. 
Tyndale collected all the sheets, secured a boat, and rap- 
idly ascended the river, carrying with him the hope of 
England. 

When the printers, accompanied by the officers of the 
senate, reached the printing-office, they were surprised 
beyond measure to find that Tyndale, with his "abomina- 
ble papers," had escaped like a bird from the hand of the 
fowler. 

Believing that Tyndale would place himself under the 
protection of some Lutheran prince, a message was sent 
to the king of England, advising that orders be given at 
every seaport to prevent the introduction of "this most 
baneful merchandise." 



82 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

At Worms With the Grandson of Faust 

During this time Tyndale, guarding his precious 
treasure, was ascending the river, and after five or six days, 
reached Worms, where he engaged a printer, and renewed 
his task. His printer was Peter Schaeffer, the grandson 
of Faust, who, it will be recalled, was associated with 
Gutenberg in the publication of the first printed Bible- 
Two editions of Tyndale's New Testament were printed, 
and both were completed about the end of the year 1525. 
Shipped to England 

The following year these books were sent to England by 
way of Holland. 

11 While all was agitation in England, the waves of ocean 
were bearing from the Continent to the banks of the 
Thames those Scriptures of God, which, three centuries 
later, multiplied by thousands and by millions, and, trans- 
lated into a hundred and fifty tongues, were to be wafted 
from the same banks to the ends of the world. If, in the 
fifteenth century, and even in the early years of the six- 
teenth, the English New Testament had been brought to 
London, it would only have fallen into the hands of a few 
Lollards. Now, in every place, — in the parsonages, the 
universities, and the palaces, as well as in the cottages of 
the husbandmen and the shops of the tradesmen, — there 
was an ardent desire to possess the Holy Scriptures. The 
fiat lux was about to be uttered over the chaos of the 
church, and light to be separated from darkness by the 
Word of God." — "History of the Reformation" by D'Au- 
bigne, book 18, chap. 12. 

"And thus the Word of God, presented by Erasmus to 
the learned in 1517, was given to the people by Tyndale 
in 1526. In the parsonages and in the convent cells, but 
particularly in shops and cottages, a crowd of persons 
were studying the New Testament." — Id., book iq, chap. 1. 



Literature and the Reformation 83 

An Enemy That Must Be Seized and Destroyed 

"It was the New Testament that compromised the 
absolute power of Rome. It must be seized and destroyed, 
said the bishops. London, Oxford, and above all, Cam- 
bridge, those three haunts of heresy, must be carefully 
searched. Definite orders were issued on Saturday the 
third of February, 1526, and the work began immediately." 
— Id., chap. 2. 

Continued to Circulate 

"But the Xew Testament continued to circulate, and 
depots were formed in several convents. Barnes, a pris- 
oner in the Augustine monastery in London, had regained 
his courage, and loved his Bible more and more. One day 
about the end of September, as three or four friends were 
reading in his chamber, two simple peasants, John Tyball 
and Thomas Hilles, natives of Bumpstead, in Essex, came 
in. 'How did you come to a knowledge of the truth?' 
asked Barnes. They drew from their pockets some old 
volumes containing the Gospels and a few of the Epistles, 
in English. Barnes returned them with a smile. 'They 
are nothing,' he told them, 'in comparison with the new 
edition of the Xew Testament,' a copy of which the two 
peasants bought for three shillings and two-pence. ' Hide 
it carefully,' said Barnes." — Id., chap. 4. 

"While the agents of the clergy were carrying on the 
archepiscopal mandate, and a merciless search was making 
everywhere for the Xew Testaments from Worms, a new 
edition was discovered, fresh from the press, of a smaller 
and more portable, and consequently more dangerous 
size. . . . The annoyance of the priests was extreme, 
and Hackett, the agent of Henry VIII in the Low Coun- 
tries, immediately received orders to get this man pun- 
ished." — Id., chap. 4. 






84 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

Richard Bayfield the Bookseller 

"As soon as Richard Bayfield, the late chamberlain of 
Bury, had joined Tyndale and Fryth, he said to them: ' I 
am at your disposal; you shall be my head, and I will be 
your hand; I will sell your books and those of the German 
Reformers, in the Low Countries, France, and England.' 
But Pierson, the priest whom he had formerly met in 
Lombard Street, found him again, and accused him to the 
bishop. The unhappy man was brought before Tonstall. 
'You are charged,' said the prelate, 'with having asserted 
that praise is due to God alone, and not to saints or crea- 
tures.' Bayfield acknowledged the charge to be true. 
'You are accused of maintaining that every priest may 
preach the word of God by authority of the gospel, with- 
out the license of the Pope or cardinals.' This also Bay- 
field acknowledged. A penance was imposed upon him; 
and then he was sent back to his monastery with orders to 
show himself there on the twenty-fifth of April. But he 
crossed the sea once more, and hastened to join Tyndale. 

Food for Beth Soul and Body 
"The New Testaments, however, sold by hirnand others, 
remained in England. At that time, the bishops sub- 
scribed to suppress the Scriptures, as so many persons have 
since done to circulate them; and, accordingly, a great 
number of the copies brought over by Bayfield and his 
friends were bought up. A scarcity of food was erelong 
added to the scarcity of the Word of God; for, as the cardi- 
nal was endeavoring to foment a war between Henry and 
the emperor, the Flemish ships ceased to enter the English 
ports. It was in consequence of this that the lord mayor 
and the aldermen of London hastened to express their 
apprehensions to Wolsey almost before he had recovered 
from the fatigues of his return from France. 'Fear noth- 



Literature and the Reformation 85 

ing,' he told them; 'the king of France assured me that 
if he had three bushels of wheat, England should have two 
of them.' But none arrived, and the people were on the 
point of breaking out into violence when a fleet of ships 
suddenly appeared off the mouth of the Thames. They 
were German and Flemish vessels laden with corn, in 
which the worthy people of the Low Countries had also 
concealed the Xew Testament. An Antwerp bookseller, 
named John Raimond or Ruremond, from his birthplace, 
had printed a fourth edition, more beautiful than the 
previous ones. It was enriched with references and en- 
gravings on wood, and each page bordered with red lines. 
Raimond himself had embarked on board one of the ships 
with five hundred copies of his Xew Testament. About 
Christmas, 1527, the Book of God was circulated in England 
along with the bread that nourishes the body. But certain 
priests and monks, having discovered the Scriptures among 
the sacks of corn, carried several copies to the bishop of 
London, who threw Raimond into prison. The greater 
part, however, of the new edition escaped the bishop. 
The Bible at Court 
"The Xew Testament was read everywhere, and even 
the court did not escape the contagion. Anne Boleyn, 
notwithstanding her smiling face, often withdrew to her 
closet at Greenwich or at Hampton Court, to study the 
gospel. Frank, courageous, and proud, she did not con- 
ceal the pleasure she found in such reading; her boldness 
astonished the courtiers, and exasperated the clergy. In 
the city things went still farther: the New Testament was 
explained in frequent conventicles, particularly in the 
house of Russell; and great was the joy among the faith- 
ful. 'It is sufficient only to enter London,' said the 
priests, 'to become a heretic!' The Reformation was 
taking root among the people." — Id., chap. 7. 



86 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

The Work Hastened as Dangers Increased 

"While these men were conspiring his ruin, Tyndale 
compassed several works, got them printed and sent to 
England, and prayed God night and day, to enlighten 
his fellow countrymen. 'Why do you give yourself so 
much trouble?' said some of his friends. 'They will only 
do what I expect, ' replied he, 'if they burn me also.' Al- 
ready he beheld his own burning pile in the distance; but 
it was a sight which served only to increase his zeal. Hid- 
den, like Luther, at the Wartburg, not however, in a castle, 
but in a humble lodging, Tyndale, like the Saxon Reformer, 
spent his days and nights translating the Bible. But not 
having an elector of Saxony to protect him, he was forced 
to change his residence from time to time." — Id., book 20, 
chap. 4. 

The Bishops Lead the Attack 

"'We must clear the Lord's field of the thorns which 
choke it,' said the Archbishop of Canterbury to Convoca- 
tion, on the twenty-ninth of November, 1529; immediately 
after which the bishop of Bath read to his colleagues the 
list of books that he desired to have condemned. There 
were a number of works by Tyndale, Luther, Melanchthon, 
Zwingli, (Ecolampadius, Pomeranus, Brentius, Bucer, 
Jonas, Francis Lambert, Fryth, and Fish. The Bible, in 
particular, was set down. 'It is impossible to translate 
the Scriptures into English,' said one of the prelates; 'It 
is not lawful for the laity to read it in their mother tongue,' 
said another; 'If you tolerate the Bible,' added a third, 
'you will make us all heretics.' ' By circulating the Scrip- 
tures, ' exclaimed several, 'you will raise up the nation 
against the king.' Sir T. More laid the bishops' petition 
before the king, and some time after, Henry gave orders 
by proclamation, that 'no one should preach, or write any 



Literature and the Reformation 87 

book, or keep any school without his bishop's license; 
that no one should keep any heretical book in his house; 
that the bishops should detain the offenders in prison at 
their discretion, and then proceed to the execution of the 
guilty; and finally, that the chancellor, the justice of the 
peace, and other magistrates, should aid and assist the 
bishops.' Such was the cruel proclamation of Henry VIII, 
'the father of the English Reformation.' " — Id., chap. 75. 

Tortures and the Stake for Bible Agents 
" Thomas Hitton, a poor and pious minister of Kent, 
used to go frequently to Antwerp to purchase New Testa- 
ments. As he was returning from one of these expeditions, 
in 1529, the bishop of Rochester caused him to be arrested 
at Gravesend, and put to the cruelest tortures, to make 
him deny his faith. But the martyr repeated with holy 
enthusiasm: 'Salvation cometh by faith, and not by 
works, and Christ giveth it to whomsoever he willeth.' 
On the twentieth of February, 1530, he was tied to the 
stake, and the're burned to death. 

Bayfield Undismayed 
"Scarcely were Hitton 's sufferings ended for bringing 
the Scriptures into England, when a vessel laden with 
New Testaments arrived at Colchester. The indefatiga- 
ble Bayfield, who accompanied these books, sold them in 
London, went back to the Continent, and returned to 
England in November; but this time the Scriptures fell 
into the hands of Sir Thomas More. Bayfield, undis- 
mayed, again visited the Low Countries, and soon re- 
appeared, bringing with him the New Testament and the 
works of almost all the Reformers. ' How cometh it that 
there are so many New Testaments from abroad?' asked 
Tonstall, of Packington; 'you promised me that you would 
buy them all.' 'They have printed more since,' replied 



88 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

the wily merchant, 'and it will never be better so long as 
they have letters and stamps (types and dies). My Lord, 
you had better buy the stamps, too, and so you shall be 
sure."' — Id., chap. 15. 

Bayfield's Imprisonment and 111 Treatment 

But instead of attempting to purchase the types and 
dies, the priests sought after Bayfield himself. His godly 
life, his activity in the importation and circulation of 
Bibles, and his devotion to the cause of the Reformation, 
could not be endured by the leaders of the church. Bay- 
field was tracked from place to place, until he finally took 
refuge at his bookbinder's, where he was discovered and 
thrust into the Lollards ' tower. Here he suffered great 
indignities and ill treatment for speaking encouraging 
words to his^fellow sufferers in prison. The jailer removed 
Bayfield from the Lollards' tower, and shut him up in the 
coal-house, where he was fastened upright to the wall, by 
the neck, middle, and legs. The unfortunate gospeler of 
Bury passed his time in continual darkness, never lying 
down, never seated, but nailed, as it were, to the wall, and 
never hearing the sound of a human voice. Many other 
printers, merchants, and colporteurs were also imprisoned, 
and treated more cruelly than the most hardened criminals. 

Two colporteurs, who were friends of Tyndale, were 
arrested for selling copies of the New Testament. They 
were fined one hundred pounds (five hundred dollars) each. 
But this was not enough. A new form of disgrace was 
invented. Sheets of the New Testament which they had 
sold, were sewed to their clothing, and they were placed on 
horseback, "with their faces toward the tail, and thus 
paraded through the streets of London, exposed to the 
jeers and laughter of the populace." Such methods of 
torture and shame succeeded better to thwart Tyndale 's 
work than any attempts to refute it by argument. 



Literature and the Reformation 89 

The Victorious Mission of the Press 

Under such conditions as are set forth in this chapter. 
was the mighty work of the printing-press carried on in the 
Reformation of the sixteenth century. Banished from 
home and country, pursued from place to place, or shut up 
within prison walls, the Reformers translated the Scrip- 
tures into the language of the common people, and hun- 
dreds of tracts and pamphlets were written and given wide 
distribution. 

Printers often did their work in secret. Supplies of 
literature were hidden in cellars, garrets, and closets. 
Publications shipped to colporteurs were marked as crock- 
ery, molasses, or wheat. Colporteurs went about in dis- 
guise, evading the ever-watchful eye of their persecutors. 

But the work of God moved on apace. The gospel plant 
flourished while borne onward by the stormy times and the 
persecutions of wicked men. The seed was the living 
Word. The soil was the awakened consciences of men. 
Bibles were burned, but not lessened in number. Every 
bonfire only increased the light. The call of the people 
for Bibles increased, and "the fruitful press" supplied the 
growing demand. Booksellers were imprisoned, tortured, 
and killed, but their number rapidly increased. Thus the 
gospel seed germinated more quickly, and the gospel tree 
grew more rapidly as the ground was enriched by the blood 
and ashes of .the martyred followers of Christ. 

The printing-press was accomplishing its mighty work. 
Its mission was established, — a mission which, though 
often perverted, it is better able to fulfil to-day in the 
proclamation of the closing gospel message than it has 
been in any movement of the past. 

The proclamation of the third angel's message in this 
last generation is the renewal, and will mark the final tri- 
umph, of that might}* conflict which was waged by the 



90 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

Reformers of the sixteenth century. Their message was 
a protest against the beast, and a call to faith and obedi- 
ence. The third angel's message is a final warning 
against the beast and his image, and is a call to "keep the 
commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." 

"Those Reformers whose protest has given us the name 
Protestant felt that God had called them to give the gos- 
pel to the world, and in doing this they were ready to 
sacrifice their possessions, their liberty, and their lives. 
Are we in this last conflict of the great controversy as 
faithful to our trust as were the early Reformers to theirs? 

" In the face of persecution and death, the truth for that 
time was spread far and near. The Word of God was 
carried to the people; all classes, high and low, rich and 
poor, learned and ignorant, studied it eagerly, and those 
who received the light became in their turn its messen- 
gers. In those days the truth was brought home to the 
people through the press. Luther's pen was a power, 
and his writings, scattered broadcast, stirred the world. 
The same agencies are at our command, with facilities 
multiplied a hundredfold. Bibles and publications in many 
languages, setting forth the truth for this time, are at 
our hand, and can be swiftly carried to all the world. We 
are to give the last warning of God to men, and what 
should be our earnestness in studying the Bible, and our 
zeal in spreading the light! " — " Testimonies for the Church," 
Vol. VI, page 40J. 






Literature and Modern Missions 



" The missionary whose life-blood has flowed 
from the translator s pen, merits inexpress- 
ible gratitude; for no mission can have per- 
manence unless it is founded upon the Gi- 
braltar of truth — the infallible Word of 
God. — Matilda Erickson. 



Ill 

Literature and Modern Missions 

* I / HE printing-press has had a powerful influence, also, 
■*■ in establishing and making permanent the great 
missionary movements of the nineteenth century; and we 
might state further, that no foreign missionary work dur- 
ing the past century has been either successful or perma- 
nent in character without having as its basis the printing 
and circulation of the Scriptures and other religious 
literature. 

Striking illustrations of this fact are found in the life- 
work of Robert Morrison, in China; William Carey, in 
India; Adoniram Judson, in Burma; Robert Moffat, in 
South Africa; John Williams, in the South Sea islands, and 
a host of other brave pioneers who have led the van of the 
gospel army in the conquest of heathen lands. 
Robert Morrison 1 

Robert Morrison was born in England, Jan. 15, 1782, of 
humble Scotch parentage. In May, 1804, he offered him- 
self to the London Missionary Society, was accepted, and 
was appointed its first missionary to China. He was 
ordained, and sailed for China Jan. 31, 1807, reaching 
Canton on September 7 of the same year. 

An edict being issued about this time by the Chinese 
government prohibiting the printing of religious books and 
the preaching of the gospel, Mr. Morrison set himself at 
once to study the language and translate the Bible. In 
1 8 10 he published the Acts of the Apostles, the first portion 



1 The data for these biographical sketches are gathered 
largely from the Encyclopedia of Missions, edited by E. M. 
Bliss, and published by Funk & Wagnalls, New York City. 

93 



id 

*• 

s 

: 



94 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

of the Scriptures in Chinese printed by any Protestant 
missionary. In 1812 the Gospel of Luke was printed. 
Early in 18 14 the whole of the New Testament was ready, 
and the British East India Company furnished a press an 
materials, and also a printer to superintend its printing 
In this year, after several years of labor, he baptized his 
first Chinese convert, who was also the first Chinese con 
vert to Protestant Christianity. 

In 1 8 15 he published a Chinese grammar of three hun 
dred pages. In 1818 he completed the translation of the 
entire Bible, and in 1821 its publication. From 1810 to 
181 8 the British and Foreign Bible Society appropriated 
thirty thousand dollars toward the printing and publishing 
of the Chinese Bible. The Old Testament formed twenty- 
one volumes. 

His most laborious literary work was the Chinese dic- 
tionary, published in 1821 by the British East India Com- 
pany, at an expense of seventy-five thousand dollars. He 
devoted himself to the missionary work, preaching, trans- 
lating, and distributing printed works among the Chinese. 
In 1832 he wrote: " I have been twenty-five years in China, 
and am now beginning to see the work prosper. By the 
press we have been able to scatter knowledge far and wide." 
William Carey 

William Carey was born in Northamptonshire, England, 
Aug. 17, 1 761. In 1789 he became pastor of the church at 
Leicester. At a # meeting of the ministers' association at 
Nottingham, May 31, 1792, he preached from the words, 
"Enlarge the place of thy tent" (Isa. 54: 2, 3), laying 
down these two propositions: "Expect great things from 
God, and attempt great things for God." The discourse 
produced a great impression, and the result was the forma- 
tion at Kettering, Oct. 2, 1793, of the Baptist Missionary 
Society. 



Literature and Modern Missions 95 

On being sent to India, he began the translation of the 
New Testament into the native tongues. He completed 
the publication of the Bible in Bengali, in five volumes, in 
1809. That which gave Carey his fame as a missionary 
was the translation of the Bible, in whole or in parts, into 
twenty-four Indian languages or dialects. The printing- 
press, under his direction, rendered the Bible accessible to 
more than three hundred million human beings. 

Carey had for years sought through Lord Wellesley the 
abolition of the suttee. In 1829 it was abolished, and a 
proclamation declaring it punishable as homicide was sent 
to Dr. Carey to be translated into Bengali. The order 
reached him as he was preparing for public worship on 
Sunday. Throwing off his black coat, he exclaimed: "If 
I delay an hour to translate and publish this, many a 
widow's life may be sacrificed." Resigning his pulpit to 
another, he completed with his pundit the translation by 
sunset. 

Adoniram Judson 

Adoniram Judson, missionary to Burma, was born in 
Maiden, Mass., Aug. 9, 1788. He reached Burma in July, 
1 813. From the beginning, he devoted himself to the 
language and to the translation of literature. After six 
years of labor, he baptized his first convert. 

The small tracts which he translated and distributed 
were carried to the natives far away into the interior. In 
1830, at a great festival in Rangoon, he was applied to by 
thousands of natives for tracts. "Some," he says, "came 
♦ two or three months' journey from the borders of Siam and 
China. 'Sir, we hear that there is an eternal hell. We 
are afraid of it. Do give us a writing that will tell us how 
to escape it.' Others came from the frontiers of Katha, a 
hundred miles north of Avar 'Sir, we have seen a writing 
that tells about an eternal God. Are you the man that 




96 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

gives away such writings? If so, pray give us one, for we 
want to know the truth before we die.' Others came from 
the interior of the country, where the name of Jesus Christ 
was little known : ' Are you Jesus Christ 's man? Give us a 
writing that tells about Jesus Christ.'" 

In 1834 ne completed the translation of the Bible into 
Burmese, which he had begun seventeen years before in 
Rangoon. The story of the providences of God and his 
watch-care over this manuscript, is one of the most won- 
derful chapters in the history of missions. 

During the war between Burma and England, Judson 
endured terrible hardships. He was suspected of being a 
spy, and was thrown into prison. Three sets of fetters 
bound him for nineteen months, and during two months 
of the time the fetters were increased to five. His wife, 
also, during the same period suffered great persecution. 
That his manuscript escaped destruction during all the 
events of that warfare, is more wonderful than most writers 
of fiction even would imagine. 

"At first, Mrs. Judson, after her husband's imprison- 
ment, buried the precious paper; but as the time of his 
incarceration lengthened, she knew that it would decay if 
left in the ground. She did not dare to keep it in the house, 
and there was no safe hiding-place available. She made it 
into a pillow, and took this to her husband. There was 
cotton about the manuscript, but the pillow was poor and 
hard, so as not to tempt the keepers of the prison to theft. 
And so, by day and by night, in his loathsome cell, Dr. 
Judson lay upon his manuscript. 

"Seven months the missionary kept his head pillowed 
upon the book, and then the pillow was stolen; but Mrs. 
Judson succeeded in redeeming it by giving the soldiers 
who had it a better one in exchange, and the Bible pillow 
was returned to her husband. 



Literature and Modern^ Missions . 97 

"But a sudden change came. Dr. Judson was hurried 
by night to a distant prison, and was not permitted to 
take even his poor pillow with him. It was thrown out 
into the prison yard. But there one of his faithful con- 
verts saw it, and took it home as a relic of the teacher who 
had shown him how to live. 

"Long afterward when Dr. Judson had been released, 
he found the pillow in the house of his convert, and to his 
great joy discovered that the manuscript within was un- 
injured. 

"Through such trials and perils and persecutions was 
the gospel given to Burma, and Dr. Judson lived to see 
thousands reading it and trusting in its precious truths." 
— Youth's Companion. 

In 1842 he began the preparation of a Burmese diction- 
ary. Numerous converts, a corps of trained native assist- 
ants, the translation of the Bible and other valuable books 
into Burmese, and a large Burman and English dictionary 
nearly completed, are some of the direct fruits of his thirty- 
seven years of missionary service. 

Robert Moffat 

Robert Moffat was born in Scotland, Dec. 21, 1795, of 
humble parentage. He was appointed to South Africa by 
the London Missionary Society, and sailed from England 
Oct. 31, 1816, and arrived at Cape Town in 1817. Moffat 
set out from Cape Colony for the district controlled by 
Africaner. This chief had been outlawed for barbarous 

! crimes, and his name had been a terror to all the region. 
But he had become converted to Christianity. The 

.farmers did not believe the reported conversion, and pre- 
dicted Moffat's destruction. 

After incredible perils and difficulties, he reached a 
mission station called Warm Baths, where the native 
Christian teacher and the people insisted on his remaining, 



98 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

the women declaring that they would block the wheels of 
his wagon with their bodies, when a party of Africaner's 
men appeared, and carried him off to the kraal of Africaner, 
beyond the Orange River. 

He arrived Jan. 26, 18 18, and was cordially received by 
the chief, who ordered some women to build a house for the 
missionary. In 1821 Moffat opened a mission at Kuru- 
man, where for many years he labored, preaching and 
teaching, without seeing the people converted. Moffat soon 
discovered the mistake he had made in trying to establish 
a mission without having the Scriptures at least translated 
into the native tongue, and published. He set about 
earnestly to correct his failure. 

In 1830 he completed the translation of the Gospel of 
Luke into the native tongue, and printed it at Cape Town. 
He returned with this and a hymn-book in the native lan- 
guage. He also brought back with him a printing-press, 
type, paper, and ink, having learned to print while at the 
Cape. After this the mission greatly prospered. In 1838 
the entire New Testament was translated, and in the 
following year he went to England to get it printed. In 
1857 he completed, single-handed, the translation of the 
whole Bible into Bechuana, which was printed at Kuru- 
man. 

John Williams 

John Williams was born in Tottenham, near London- 
England, June 29, 1796. He was appointed to the South 
Sea islands by the London Missionary Society, leaving 
England in November, 18 16. There he found a people 
without a written language. Realizing that his mission 
work to be permanent must be founded upon the Word of 
God, he did not shrink from the tremendous task that lay 
before him of learning the spoken language, inventing an 
alphabet, reducing the spoken language to writing, prepar- 



Literature and Modern Missions 99 

ing a grammar and a dictionary, teaching the natives 
their own language in writing, and translating the Scrip- 
tures. In nine years he completed this stupendous task, 
and placed the New Testament in their native tongue in 
the hands of the people, whom he had taught to read their 
own language. . 

Dan Bradley 

Dan Bradley was born at Marcellus, X. Y., July 18, 
1804. He was graduated from a medical college in the 
city of Xew York in 1833. He was appointed a missionary 
to Siam, where he arrived July 18, 1835. He gave himself 
wholly to the preaching of the gospel, translating the 
Scriptures, and preparing and printing tracts. From 1857 
onward he was not chargeable to the society for any por- 
tion of his support, but maintained himself by means of 
the printing-press and by his skill in translating. His 
published writings, both in English and in Siamese, were 
voluminous. His translations, though by him considered 
tentative, have not been, it is thought, greatly improved 
bv later hands. 

Eli Smith 

Eli Smith was born in Xorthford, Conn., Sept. 13, 1801 ; 
was graduated from Yale College in 1821 ; went to Syria in 
1827, and became the founder of the great mission press at 
Beirut. In 1837 he began the preparation of a new Arabic 
version of the Bible. The first step was to make punches 
and matrices for an entirely new font of Arabic type, 
modeled upon the most acceptable forms of Arabic calig- 
raphy, which resulted in the world-wide fame of the 
Arabic type of the Beirut mission press. 

In 1848 he began the work of translating. For eight 
years he labored almost continually at this work. With 
this gigantic task only partially completed, Dr. Smith fell 
sick, and died Jan. 11, 1857. An associate took up the 



ioo The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

work where Dr. Smith had dropped it, and persevered 
until the work was completed, and the first copy printed 
in 1865. 

Thus thirty-eight years were spent in learning the lan- 
guage, preparing the type, and in translating and publish- 
ing the Scriptures. At what cost of time and effort was 
this work accomplished! But by it the foundation was 
laid for other missionaries and for. a permanent gospel 
work in the missions of Syria. The Arabic Bible is to-day 
one of the finest monuments to missionary scholarship. 

Bartholomew Ziegenbalg 

Bartholomew Ziegenbalg was born June 24, 1683, in 
Pulsnitz, Saxony. King Frederick IV of Denmark, 
aroused to his duty to give the gospel to those under his 
sway in India, directed his chaplain to seek men suitable 
for missionary service. Ziegenbalg was appointed, and 
embarked at Copenhagen in 1705. 

After a long and dangerous voyage, he arrived in south- 
ern India, and entered upon the study of the Tamil lan- 
guage. In two years after his arrival, Ziegenbalg had so 
far mastered the language that he began the translation 
of the Scriptures, and a year later, could speak Tamil with 
as much ease as his native German. He soon began the 
preparation of a grammar and a lexicon. 

In 171 1, five years after his arrival, he finished the trans- 
lation of the New Testament and a large part of the Old 
Testament. This was the first translation of any portion 
of the Scriptures into any language of India. In 1714 the 
publications he had issued included his translation of the 
New Testament, the Danish liturgy, the book of German 
hymns, and thirty-three other Tamil works, including a 
dictionary. 

He had learned Tamil by sitting down with the children 



Literature and Modem Missions 101 

in the native school, and imitating them as they made 
letters in the sand. The Brahman who afterward taught 
him was imprisoned for his crime. Slaves alone were per- 
mitted to listen to him. His first Bible translation was 
scratched upon palm-leaves. 

He died in 17 19, when only thirty-six years of age, leav- 
ing behind him three hundred and fifty converts, a large 
mission church, and thirty-three Christian publications in 
the native language. 

Elijah Bridgman 

Elijah Bridgman was born at Bechertown, Mass., April 
22, 1 80 1, of Puritan ancestry. He was graduated at 
Amherst College in 1826, and at Andover Theological 
Seminary in 1829. He resolved that if God opened the 
way, he would go and preach the gospel to the heathen. 
, On the earnest request of Dr. Robert Morrison, Mr. Bridg- 
man was appointed to China. The first year he devoted 
to the study of the language. 

In May, 1832, on Dr. Morrison's suggestion, the Chinese 
Repository, a monthly magazine, was started, the leading 
object of which was to diffuse among all readers of the 
English language useful information concerning China, 
j Mr. Bridgman was chosen editor, and continued to edit 
1 this magazine for nearly twenty years. In 1841 he re- 
ceived the degree of D. D., from the Xew York University 
of Xew York City. 

Dr. Bridgman's time was divided between the Reposi- 

1 tory, the revision of the Scriptures, and the preaching of 

j the word. In 1847 he removed to Shanghai to aid in the 

1 revision of the Scriptures. Upon his arrival at Shanghai, 

' his brethren said to him: "Proceed with the work of the 

translation. The Chinese need the whole Bible." He 

continued the work until in i860, when he could say: "If 

life, health, and opportunity be continued, we trust we 



102 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

shall erelong see the whole Bible issued from the press in 
Shanghai, in various forms and sizes of type, such as will 
meet the wants of all classes of this numerous people." 
Though his great .work was that of translation, other 
important work was performed by him. In the streets 
and villages he distributed tracts and religious books, and 
preached to individuals or companies where he could 
gather them. Bishop Boone, who knew him long and 
well, says: "The amount of good he was able to do was 
owing to his singleness of aim. " 

Samuel Williams 

Samuel Williams was born in Utica, N. Y., Sept. 22, 
1812. He was graduated at the Rensselaer Institute in 
Troy, 1832. While there, at the age of twenty, he was 
invited to join a mission company about to start for China, 
as superintendent of the press, having learned the art of 
printing in his father's publishing house. He accepted the 
invitation, and June 15, 1833, sailed in the ship " Morri- 
son" for Canton, China. 

He rapidly gained a knowledge of the Chinese language, 
and published several standard works. He became as- 
sociate editor of the Chinese Repository begun the year 
before by Dr. Bridgman, to which many able writers con- 
tributed, he himself furnishing one hundred and forty dis- 
inct articles. In 1835 ne completed a Chinese dictionary. 

Besides the Chinese Repository, which for twenty years 
occupied much of his time, he published "Easy Lessons in 
Chinese," "An English and Chinese Vocabulary in the 
Court Dialect," "The Chinese Commercial Guide," "A 
Tonic Dictionary of the Canton Dialect," and "A Syllabic 
Dictionary of the Chinese Language," containing 12,527 
characters. On the latter, a work of great value, he spent: 
eleven years. 






Literature and Modern Missions 103 

Levi Spaulding 

Levi Spaulding was born in Jaffrey, N. H., Aug. 22, 1791. 
He was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1815, and at 
Andover Theological Seminary in 181 8, and sailed for 
Ceylon the following year. He became one of the most 
accurate Tamil scholars in southern India, having so 
mastered the language as to use it with great facility and 
power. 

He performed a large amount of literary labor. More 
than twenty Tamil tracts were prepared by him, and many 
of the best lyrics in the vernacular hymn-book were from 
his pen. He prepared two dictionaries, — one Tamil, the 
other English and Tamil, — and took a prominent part in 
the revision of the Scriptures. He furnished an excellent 
translation of "Pilgrim's Progress," and compiled a Scrip- 
ture history which is still used in the schools. School- 
books, hymn-books, tracts, and Gospels passed through 
his hands for revision and proof-reading. His fluency in 
the native language, combined with his genial humor, 
gave him great influence with the natives. 

Seth Stone 

Seth Stone was born in Madison, Conn., April 30, 181 7. 
1 He was graduated from Yale College in 1842, and from the 
Union Theological Seminary in 1850. Choosing Africa 
1 as his field for missionary labor, he sailed the same year, 
I and established a station among the Zulus. He was a 
■ faithful, hard-working missionary for twenty-four years 
among the Zulus. 

A close student of the Zulu language, he translated por- 
tions of the Old and New Testaments. He published an 
edition of church history in Zulu, also a summary of general 
• history. Thirty-nine hymns for the native hymn-book 
were either translated or composed by him. 



104 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

William Schauffler 

William Schauffler was born in Stuttgart, Germany, 
Aug. 22, 1798. At the age of twenty-two he confessed his 
faith in Christ, and early became interested in foreign 
missions. He gave his attention to the study of languages 
while attending the Andover Theological Seminary, often 
studying from fourteen to sixteen hours a day. He says : 
" Aside from the study of Greek and Hebrew, and general 
classical reading, I studied the Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, 
Samaritan, Rabbinic, Hebrew-German, Persian, Turkish, 
and Spanish; and, in order to be somewhat prepared for 
going to Africa, I extracted and wrote out pretty fully the 
Ethiopic and Coptic grammars. For some years I read 
the Syriac New Testament and Pslams for my edification, 
instead of the German or the English text." He also 
aided the professors in their translations. 

He was ordained in 1831, and appointed a missionary 
to the Jews. His chief work was that of a translator, and 
the scope and extent of his work was very great. He 
translated the Bible into the Hebrew-Spanish, that is, 
Spanish with a mixture of Hebrew words and written with 
Hebrew characters, for the Jews in Constantinople. In 
1839 ne went to Vienna to superintend the printing of; 
the Hebrew-Spanish Old Testament. There he resided ! 
three years, and many striking conversions occurred 
through his labors. He presented to the emperor in a 
private interview his printed Bible, on which he had be- 
stowed great labor. The Jews having pronounced a 
favorable verdict upon it, a second and larger edition was 
printed. 

His great work was the translation of the whole Bible 
into Osmanli-Tyrkish, the language of the educated Turks. 
This occupied eighteen years. He published an ancient 
Spanish version of the Old Testament, revised by himself, 



Literature and Modern Missions 105 

with the Hebrew original in parallel columns; a popular 
translation of the Psalms into Spanish; a grammar of the 
Hebrew language in Spanish; and a Hebrew-Spanish 
lexicon of the Bible. During all this time his evangelistic 
labors were eager and powerful. They were also most 
varied, for he could speak in ten languages, and read as 
many more. 

Robert Mather 

Robert Mather was born Xov. 8, 1808, at New Windsor, 
Manchester, England. He was educated at Edinburgh 
College, and was appointed to India in 1833. His first 
work was the learning of the native language and the 
preparation of Christian vernacular literature. 

In 1857 he visited England, where he was occupied for 
three years, at the request of the North India and the 
British and Foreign Bible Societies, in making a revision, 
with marginal references, of the whole Bible in Urdu. He 
; aided in mission work while carrying on his literary work, 
and finally completed a new edition of the entire Bible in 
\ Urdu-Roman. Then he began work on an edition in 

Urdu-Arabic, with references. 
\ At the request of the Religious Tract Societies of North ' 
J India and London, he undertook to prepare and carry 
j through the press a Hindustani version of the New Testa- 
ment portion of the Tract Society's Annotated Paragraph 
Bible. This was completed in two years. He then under- 
took the preparation of a similar version of the Old Testa- 
ment portion of the same work. 

Unable to resume foreign missionary work, he thus 
continued in England to work for India with his pen. He 
died at Finchley, near London, April 21, 1877. 

John Patteson 

John Patteson, the missionary bishop and martyr of 
Melanesia, was born in London, England, April 2, 1827. 



106 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

His father was Sir John Patteson, a distinguished English 
judge, and his mother a niece of Samuel Coleridge, the 
poet. He was graduated from Eton in 1838, and from 
Oxford in 1845. 

In 1855 he sailed with Bishop Selwyn to the Melanesian 
islands, in the South Pacific. During the voyage he 
acquired the Maori language. In 1861 he was made bishop 
of the Melanesian islands. Possessing great linguistic 
talent, he translated the Bible, and reduced to writing 
and grammar several native languages that before had 
only been spoken. 

Francis Mason 

Francis Mason was born in York, England, April 2, 
1799. His father, a lay preacher of the Baptist denomina- 
tion, was under the necessity of supporting his family as a 
shoemaker, and Francis followed the same trade. The 
son's opportunities for schooling were meager. At the 
age of nineteen he came to America, and settled in Massa- 
chusetts. In October, 1827, he was licensed to preach, and 
the next month he entered the Newton Theological Semi- 
nary, having previously studied Greek and Hebrew. In 
connection with his first thoughts of preaching the gospel, 
his mind was directed to missionary work. He was ap- 
pointed to Burma on Dec. 17, 18 19, and sailed May 26 
of the following year. 

Mr. Mason was a great linguist. He translated the 
Bible into the two principal dialects of the Karen, the 
Sagau and Pwo; and also Matthew, Genesis, and the 
Psalms into the Bghai, another dialect. He wrote and 
printed a grammar of the first two for the use of mission- 
aries. 

Wishing to give~the pupils of his theological school some 
scientific knowledge, he wrote an original treatise on 
/Trigonometry, With Its Applications to Land Measur- 



Literature and Modern Missions 107 

ing, etc." This was printed in Sagau and Burmese, and 
the government paid for an edition in Bghai Karen. 

At the request of English residents at Moulmein he 
prepared and had printed a work on the natural pro- 
ductions of the country, entitled "Tennasserim; or, Notes 
on the Fauna, Flora, Minerals, and Nations of British 
Burma and Pegu, " of which "The Friend of India" says . 
" It is one of the most valuable works of the kind that ha s 
ever appeared in this country, not only for the complete 
originality of its information, but also for the talent ex- 
hibited in collecting and arranging it." His motive in 
investigating these subjects was the more accurate trans, 
lation of the Scriptures. He had observed the difficulty 
met by translators of correctly rendering the terms used 
in the original Scriptures to designate beasts, birds, fishes 
insects, trees, gems, and many other natural objects, the 
misinterpretation of which often made the sense obscure, 
and sometimes to the native mind absurd. 

He studied medicine after reaching Burma, and wrote 
a small work on "Materia Medica Pathology," in three 
languages. His greatest literary work was a "Pali Gram- 
mar With Chrestomathy and Vocabulary," which was 
received by scholars with great favor. 

In 1842 he started a Karen periodical, the first native 
paper published east of the Ganges, and the next year a 
similar monthly in Burmese, at Moulmein. The Karens 
had no books, but many traditions, among which were 
many remarkable Scripture traditions, all of which Mr. 
Mason collected. 

His health having failed, he yielded to the advice of the 
mission to return for a season to America. Arriving in 
Calcutta, with health improved, he concluded to return to 
Burma, and work on the translation of the Old Testa, 
ment, stopping at Moulmein in order to have the 



io8 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

advice of the missionaries there. The translation was 
finished in 1853, and, returning to Tavoy, he had the entire 
Bible printed. In appreciation of his marked literary and 
Biblical attainments, the degree of D. D. was conferred 
upon him in 1853 by Brown University. 

In his youth Dr. Mason had a great desire to be a printer. 
That desire was gratified in Toungoo (the ancient capital 
of Burma) after he was sixty years of age. Living next 
door to Mr. Bennett's printing office, he learned the trade 
himself, taught the Karens, and soon his printing, done in 
English, Burmese, Karen, Old Pali, and Sanskrit, was 
pronounced equal to that done in the best printing-office 
in India. 

Henry Martyn 

Henry Martyn was born in Truro, Cornwall, England, 
Feb. 18, 1781. He entered St. John's College, Cam- 
bridge, in 1797; received in 1801 the highest academical 
honor of "senior wrangler," and also the prize for the 
greatest proficiency in mathematics. In 1802 he was 
chosen fellow of his college, and took the first prize for the 
best Latin composition. He became one of the East 
India Company's chaplains, reaching Calcutta in May, 
i860. 

He labored, first at Dinapur, then at Cawnpore, two 
places northwest of Calcutta, on the Ganges. Fainting 
spells and fevers testified to the weakness of his body, and 
the fierce heat wore him out. His brave spirit forced him 
on, however, to labors manifold, — outdoor preaching to 
the soldiers under a torrid sky; testifying before the 
heathen "amidst groans, hissings, curses, blasphemies, 
and threatenings;" the building of a church at Cawnpore; 
and especially translations of the New Testament into 
^Hindustani and Hindi. He learned Persian, and trans- 
ated the New Testament into that language. 



Literature and Modern Missions 109 

Increasing sickness compelled a sea voyage, and in 181 1 
we find him at Shiraz, in southern Persia, translating the 
New Testament into Arabic, holding public and private 
discussions with the Mohammedans, and presenting to 
the shah himself a splendidly bound copy of his Persian 
Xew Testament. 

Again sickness compelled a removal, and he set out 
homeward on horseback for Constantinople, 1300 miles 
distant. Complete exhaustion overtook him on the way, 
and he was obliged to stop at Tokat, in the center of Tur- 
key in Asia, where the plague was raging. There he died, 
Oct. 16, 1812, at the early age of thirty-two, and there 
he lies buried in the Armenian cemetery, his monument 
bearing inscriptions in English, Armenian, Turkish, and 
Persian. 

The great work of Marty n's life was the translation of 
the Bible. His versions of the New Testament in Hindu- 
stani and Persian, spoken by many millions of people, are 
enduring monuments, not only to his scholarship, but to 
his zeal for extending the knowledge of the Christian 
Scriptures. 

Joshua Marshman 

Joshua Marshman was born in Westbury-Leigh, Wilt. 
shire, England, April 20, 1768. Having decided to be a 
missionary to the heathen, he offered himself to the Bap- 
tist Missionary Society, and in 1799 was sent with three 
others to join Dr. Carey in his mission north of Bengal. 
In addition to his more special missionary duties, he ap- 
plied himself to the study of Bengali, Sanskrit, and Chi- 
nese. Dr. Carey wrote to Andrew Fuller: " Brother Marsh- 
man is a prodigy of diligence and prudence; learning the 
language is mere play for him." He translated into Chi- 
nese the book of Genesis, the Gospels, and the epistles of 
Paul to the Romans and Corinthians. He was associated 



no The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

with Dr. Carey in preparing a Sanskrit grammar and 
Bengali-English dictionary, and published an abridg- 
ment of the latter. 

Alexander Mackay 

Alexander Mackay was born in Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, 
Scotland, Oct. 13, 1849. At three years of age he read the 
New Testament; at seven, Milton's "Paradise Lost," 
Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," and 
Robertson's "History of the Discovery of America." 
His father taught him geography, astronomy, and geome- 
try, stopping in their walks to demonstrate a proposition 
of Euclid, or illustrate the motions of the heavenly bodies, 
or trace the course of a newly discovered river of the Dark 
Continent, with his cane, in the sand. 

At twenty-six, in 1875, in response to an appeal from the 
Church Missionary Society for a practical business man to 
go to Mombasa, he offered himself, but another person had 
been secured. Early the next year he was accepted by the 
Church Missionary Society, and embarked April 25, 1876, 
Victoria for Nyanza, reaching Uganda in November, 1876. 

Mr. Mackay had acquired a knowledge of the Swahili 
language, and was able immediately to print portions of 
the Scriptures, and to read and explain them to the king 
and his people. Children were much drawn to Mr. Mac- 
kay, and constantly surrounded him. Many were learning 
to read the Bible. He labored daily at the printing-press, 
having to cut his own types. 

In 1887 the Arabs succeeded in persuading Mwanga to 
expel Mr. Mackay. Having locked the mission premises, 
he embarked July 20, for the southern end of the lake, 
making his abode at Usambiro. Here he remained for 
three years, translating and printing the Scriptures. He 
was attacked with malarial fever, and died Feb. 8, 1890, 
after five days' illness. 



Literature and Modem Missions in 

Mr. Stock remarks: "Mackay is identified in most 
minds with the industrial, material, and civilizing side of 
missions. It would indeed be most unjust to think of 
him entirely in that aspect. A man who was one day 
grappling with Mohammedans in strenuous theological 
argument, and preaching Christ, that he is the Son of God; 
who the next day was content to sit for hours teaching 
boys to read, and explaining to them simple texts; and 
who the third day was patiently translating the blessed 
Word of Life into a language that had no grammar nor 
dictionary — such a man was no mere industrial and 
civilizing missionary." 

The Church Missionary Society thus records its estimate 
of Mr. Mackay: "He took a leading part in the direct 
work of the mission, teaching and preaching the Word of 
God; and he utilized the knowledge of both classical and 
modern languages in reducing the vernacular Uganda to 
writing, and rendering into it portions of Scripture, pray- 
ers, etc. " 

John Krapf 

John Krapf was .born in Wurtemberg, Germany, 1810; 
was educated in the Basel Mission House, and sent by the 
Church Missionary Society to join the Abyssinian Mission^ 
begun by Gobat in 1830. Having been invited by the 
king of Shoa to visit his country, Dr. Krapf, with Mr. 
Isenberg, set out Jan. 27, 1839, with the hope of enter- 
ing Abyssinia by the way of Zeila, and in May, after many 
difficulties, reached the kingdom of Shoa, lying south of 
Abyssinia, and in its widest sense including the whole of 
the Ethiopian highlands. The king received them favor- 
ably, and promised his protection. 

In 1841^ the people of Shoa expressed a desire for the 
Word of God. Dr. Krapf greatly desired to reach the 
Galla tribes. He translated the Gospels into their Ian- 



112 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

guage. He applied himself to the work of translation, and 
in three years after the founding of the mission, had 
translated the Acts, Romans, Galatians, First and Second 
Peter, and First John into the Swahili language, and hac 
completed a dictionary of ten thousand words of the 
Swahili, Wanika, and Wakamba languages. 

In 1855 he returned to Europe, and though he went 
again twice to Africa on temporary missions, the ^reat 
work of his later years was linguistic, in his quiet home in 
Wurtemberg, preparing dictionaries and translating the 
Scriptures into the East African tongues. 

Though, like Livingstone, he was a pioneer, and like 
him, saw little direct fruit of his labors in the conversion of 
souls, yet, as with his case, the indirect results have been 
immense. One of his earliest productions was a vocabu- 
lary of six African languages; namely, Ki-Swahili, Ki- 
Nika, Ki-Kamba, Ki-Pokomo, Ki-Hiau, and the Galla, 
published in 1850. In the leading language, Ki-Swahili, 
he translated the New Testament, a fragment of the Old, 
and parts of the prayer-book. He also compiled an outline 
grammar and an elaborate dictionary, the latter being 
just completed at his death. He produced also vocabu- 
laries in several languages, and a translation of the Gospel 
of Luke in the Ki-Nika. 

Jonas King 

Jonas King was born in Hawley, Mass., July 29, 1792. 
He was graduated from Williams College in 18 16 and from 
Andover Seminary in 18 19. He accepted a pressing 
invitation from Pliny Fisk to join him in mission work in 
the Holy Land. After spending three years in Syria and 
Egypt, he left Beirut for America, in 1827. 

At home he traveled extensively in behalf of the Mission 
Board. While engaged in this work, Providence opened 
the way for him to go to Greece. The Ladies' Greek 



Literature and Modern Missions 113 

Committee of New York, being greatly stirred by his 
recital of the sufferings of the people from Turkish despot- 
ism, prepared a ship-load of food and clothing for the 
sufferers, and invited him to be their almoner, also their 
missionary to Greece. 

He was a thorough linguist, studying eleven languagesj 
and speaking five fluently. His original works in Arabic, 
Greek, and French were ten in number, some of them 
being widely read, and translated into other tongues. He 
revised and carried through the press eleven others. He 
distributed four hundred thousand copies of Scripture 
portions, religious tracts, and school-books in Greece and 
Turkey, besides what he scattered during his travels in 
other parts of Europe and in Palestine, Syria, and Egypt. 

To him, preeminently, is it owing that the Scriptures, 
since 1831, have been so extensively used in those coun- 
tries, and that in Greece the Word of God is not bound; 
also under God, the visible decline there of the prejudice 
against evangelical truth and religious liberty. 
Phineas Hunt 

Phineas Hunt was born in Arlington, Vt., Jan. 30, 18 16. 
From his conversion in early life he was an active and 
zealous Christian. He went to India in 1839 as a mission- 
ary printer, and was stationed at Madras. He had charge 
of the mission press in Madras, and was also treasurer of 
the mission, in both departments discharging his duties 
with fidelity. He greatly improved the style of Tamil 
printing. The Tamil Bible and the dictionary of Dr. 
Winslow, both printed by him, are monuments of his skill 
and painstaking efforts. 

On the discontinuance of the Madras Mission, he gladly 
accepted a call to Peking, China, to fill a similar post in 
that city. He established the first printing-office in Peking 
in which the foreign press and metallic movable type were 



114 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

used; and he printed a new translation of the entire Bible, 
a version of the prayer-book, and other valuable works in 
the Mandarin dialect. 

Robert Hume 

Robert Hume was born in Stamford, Conn., Nov. 9, 
1809; was graduated at Union College, 1833, taking high 
rank as a scholar in a large class; studied theology at 
Andover and Princeton; studied Marathi, and attended 
medical lectures; was ordained in 1839, an d on April 1 of 
the same year sailed as a missionary, for Bombay, with 
Mr. Burgess. 

For ten years he was secretary of the Bombay Tract and 
Book Society, and did much to make it one of the most 
efficient institutions of the kind in India. It was through 
his influence that, instead of gratuitous distributions, as 
had formerly been the custom, colporteurs were employed, 
who went into all the districts of western India, and sold 
hundreds of thousands of publications. 
William Goodell 

William Goodell was born at Templeton, Mass., in 1792. 
His father had earnestly desired him to be a minister of the 
gospel, but had not the means to educate him. The son, 
hearing that beneficiary aid was granted at Phillips Acad- 
emy, Andover, Mass., went, walking and riding, sixty 
miles to Andover. Finding the charity fund overloaded, 
and other applicants waiting, he "footed it the whole 
distance" home again. 

The next term, "without money, without credit, or any 
plan," he put his books and clothing into his trunk, 
strapped it on his back, and began his march of sixty miles 
again. He was received; and having at this academy 
fitted for college, he entered Dartmouth, where he was 
graduated, and then studied theology at Andover. 



Literature and; Modern Missions 115 

He sailed Dec. 9, 1822, for Beirut, where he arrived 
Nov. 16, 1823. In 1828, there being war between Greece 
and Turkey, he went with his family for safety, to Malta. 
There he issued the New Testament, which he translated 
into Armeno-Turkish. 

Some years later, in a fire, which destroyed nearly a 
square mile of the city of Constantinople, all his property, 
including grammars, dictionaries, commentaries, trans- 
lations, and manuscripts of every kind, was consumed. 

His great work, the translation of the Bible into Armeno- 
Turkish, was completed in 1841; but so anxious was he to 
secure perfect accuracy, that it underwent repeated re- 
visions, and the final one was not finished till 1863, four 
years before his death. On the day that he finished it, 
he wrote to Dr. John Adams, his teacher at Andover: 
"Thus have I been permitted, by the goodness of God, to 
dig a well in this distant land, at which millions may drink, 
or as good Brother Temple would say, to throw wide open 
the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem to this immense 
population. " 

John Geddie 

John Geddie was born in Banff, Scotland, in 18 15. He 
was brought up and educated in Nova Scotia, whither his 
parents immigrated in his infancy. 

Missionary books and periodicals in his father's house, 
telling of the triumphs of the gospel in Tahiti and the 
South Sea islands, the son read with avidity. There being 
then no organization in Nova Scotia to send him to a 
mission field, he was ordained in 1838, and settled as 
pastor of the churches of Cavendish and New London, in 
Prince Edward Island. 

Soon after his ordination, he wrote a series of letters on 
foreign missions, addressed to the ministers and members 
of the Presbyterian Church of Nova Scotia, which were 



n6 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

published in the provincial papers, and resulted in the 
opening of a foreign mission by the synod. The field 
selected was the South Seas, and Mr. Geddie, offering his 
services, was accepted as their first missionary. He left 
Nova Scotia for the South Seas in 1846; by the way of Cape 
Horn, stopping at the Sandwich Islands, and remaining 
two months for a vessel to Samoa. 

Mr. Geddie had a great readiness in acquiring the native 
language, and a remarkably retentive memory. He made 
early and extensive use of the press, and was an excellent 
translator of the Scriptures. He had great inventive 
power, was fertile in expedients, could turn himself with 
facility, whether to building a church, translating a Gos- 
pel, printing a primer, administering medicine, teaching a 
class, or preaching a sermon, to traversing the island on 
foot, or sailing round it in his boat. Mr. Geddie trans- 
lated and printed the Gospels of Matthew and John, and 
most of the epistles of Paul. 

His health being impaired, he visited Nova Scotia in 
1864, after sixteen years' absence. He took with him the 
book of Psalms which he had translated, and had it pub- 
lished at Halifax. 

John Eliot 

John Eliot was born in Nasing, Essex Co., England, in 
1604. He was educated at the University of Cambridge, 
where he acquired a thorough knowledge of the original 
languages of Scripture, was well versed in the general 
course of liberal studies, and was an acute grammarian. 

Mr. Eliot resolved to devote himself to the ministry, and, 
being exposed to the tyranny of Laud on account of his 
non-conformity, immigrated to America, arriving at Bos- 
ton Nov. 3, 1631. 

In 1639 he was appointed, with Welde and Mather, by 
the civil and ecclesiastical leaders of the colony, to prepare 



Literature and Modern Missions 117 

a new version of the Psalms.. This Psalter, issued in 1640, 
was the first book printed in America. It was entitled 
"The Psalms in Meter, faithfully translated for the use, 
edification, and comfort of the saints in public and private, 
especially in New England." It ,was called "The Bay 
Psalm Book," but afterward "The New England Version 
of the Psalms." The book passed through twenty-one 
editions. 

Soon after Eliot was settled in Roxbury, he became 
deeply interested in the Indians, and the legislature having 
passed an act for the propagation of the gospel among 
them, he resolved to learn their language, that he might 
preach to them. Through a young Pequot, who had 
learned a little English, and whom he had received into his 
family, he obtained some knowledge of their language. 
He soon became sufficiently familiar Avith its vocabulary 
and construction to translate the ten commandments, 
the Lord's Prayer, some texts of Scripture, and a few 
prayers. 

A very important part of his work was his translation of 
the Bible. The Indian New Testament, through the 
patronage of the English Society, was issued in 1661, and 
the Old Testament two years later. Eliot's Indian Bible 
was the first printed in America. It is the grandest monu- 
ment of early American scholarship and evangelism. Of 
this work Edward Everett said: "The history of the 
Christian church does not contain an example of resolute, 
untiring, successful labor superior. " In 1663, 1,500 copies 
were printed, and 2,000 in 1685. His original works were 
"A Catechism," an "Indian Psalter," and a "Primer." 
At the end of the latter he wrote: "Prayers and pains, 
through faith in Jesus Christ, will do anything. " "There 
was no man on earth," said R. Baxter, "whom I honor 
above him. " 



1 1 8 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

Nathan Brown 

Nathan Brown was born in New Ipswich, N. H., June 
22, 1807, and was graduated from Williams College in 1827. 
After studying theology in Newton Seminary, he was 
ordained, at Rutland, Vt., and embarked for Burma, Dec. 
22, 1832, by appointment by the Baptist Triennial Con- 
vention. 

Having spent two years in Burma, he, with Mr. Cutter, 
was appointed by his brethren to open a new mission in 
Assam, the most northeastern province of British India. 
Here, among savage tribes, he began to learn the language 
without grammar or dictionary. He soOn commenced 
the work of translation, tracts and books were distributed, 
schools were established, and zayats built, where the gospel 
was preached by the wayside. Dr. Brown's great work 
was the translation of the Scriptures. In 1848 he com- 
pleted the Assamese version of the New Testament. 

In view of the wonderful openings in Japan and the 
urgent calls for missionaries, Dr. Brown felt strongly 
drawn to that empire as a field for his personal labors; and 
in 1872, under the appointment of the American Baptist 
Missionary Union, he set sail for Japan. Though sixty- 
five years of age, he entered upon the study of the language 
with ardor, and in 1879 the translation of the New Tes- 
tament in vernacular Japanese was printed. When no 
longer able to use a pen, as he lay on his bed he dictated 
to his native preacher. 

Dr. Brown's published works are, a translation of the 
New Testament in Assamese; portions of the Old Testa- 
ment in Assamese and Shan; a grammar of the Assamese 
language; a catechism in the Assamese and Shan lan- 
guages; an arithmetic in Burmese and Assamese; hymns in 
Burmese and Assamese; and a comparative vocabulary of 
some fifty Indian languages and dialects. 






Literature and Modern Missions 119 

Edward Breath 

Edward Breath was born in New York, Jan. 22, 1808. 
Highly recommended as a Christian, and an accurate, neat, 
and competent printer, he was appointed a missionary to 
Persia, and sailed July 21, 1839, for Oroomiah. He 
labored indefatigably as a printer and an editor. 

With wonderful tact and talent he cut and constructed 
beautiful fonts of Syriac from year to year, with a hand 
before unpractised in that art, but with rare and complete 
success. Through his press he issued more than 80,000 
volumes, including several editions of the Scriptures in 
modern Syria, thus giving to the people about 16,000,000 
pages in a language never before printed. 

An Interesting Similarity 

The reader will not fail to observe the similarity running 
through the sketches of the lives of these successful mis- 
sionaries. They all learned the language of the people 
for whom they were to labor; they prepared grammars, 
dictionaries, and other helps where necessary; and trans- 
lated the Scriptures and other religious writings, and pub- 
lished them in the languages and dialects of the masses. 
The Protestant Foundation 

Such preparatory work, though accomplished by much 
sacrifice and labor, is indispensable as a foundation to all 
permanent missionary work. It is the very center of the 
Protestant idea of the gospel, which holds that the Bible t 
and the Bible only, is the foundation of our faith. 

Arthur J. Brown, in "The Why and How of Foreign 
Missions. " says: — 

" Protestantism believes that a knowledge of the Word 
of God is indispensable to intelligent and permanent 
faith. Therefore one of the duties of the missionary 
is to translate the Bible into the vernacular. We often 



120 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

hear that the Bible is now accessible to practically all 
the nations of the earth. It is true, and the missionary 
is the one who has made it so. 

The Clean for the Unclean 

" Bible translation, however, is not all of this work. 
Many books and tracts must be prepared. Most of the 
leterature of the heathen world is unclean. There are, 
indeed, some excellent writings in the sacred books of 
Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism; but at their best, 
they are merely ethical and are intermingled with a vast 
mass of error, puerility, and superstition. The books in 
common circulation are usually saturated with heathen- 
ism, if not actual immorality. The missionary, therefore, 
must create a Christian literature. This involves both 
translation and original composition. 

The Enormous Influence of Mission Presses 

** Publishing has to follow preparation. Many lands had 
no printing-presses when the missionary arrived; so he had 
to create and operate them. He was among the first to see 
the providential significance of movable type, and the 
application of steam to the printing-press. To-day (in 
1908) one hundred and sixty presses are conducted by the 
Protestant mission boards in various parts of the world » 
and they issue annually about four hundred million pages 
of Christian literature and the Word of God. The mis- 
sion presses in Shanghai are exerting an enormous in- 
fluence on the thought of one third of the human race, one 
of them printing over ninety-seven million pages a year. 
An interesting illustration of this occurred when ten thou- 
sand Christian women of China presented a copy of the 
New Testament, bound in silver and gold, to the empress 
dowager on her sixtieth birthday. The gift excited so 
much interest in the imperial palace that the emperor 
purchased a copy for his own use. 



Literature and Modern Missions 121 

" As Much as All Other Agencies Combined " 
"That Chinese Bible has gone into many a yamen as well 
as into myriads of humble homes. A medical missionary, 
calling on the late Viceroy Li Hung-chang, found him 
reading a New Testament printed on the Shanghai mis- 
sion press; and when a servant took the book away as the 
physician entered, the viceroy said, ' Do not put that in the 
library, take it to my bedroom; I shall read it again. ' The 
mission press in Beirut, Syria, is probably doing as much 
as all other agencies combined to influence the Moham- 
medan world; for there the Bible is printed in the language 
that is spoken by two hundred million souls. Scriptures 
and explanatory books and tracts go forth from that 
unpretentious building, which are read not only in Syria 
and Palestine, but in Asia Minor, xVabia, Egypt, Tunis, 
Algeria, Morocco, India, and among the Arabic-speaking 
colonies of North and South America. 

"The Bible societies give valuable cooperation in this 
department of mission work, paying the cost of printing 
the Scriptures, and, through their agents and colporteurs, 
aiding greatly in distributing them. These societies 
should therefore be considered an integral and a very 
important part of this large development of missionary 

effort. 

Converted to Buddhism by Literature 

"Emphasis may properly be laid upon literary work as a 
missionary agency. The people of Asia are not so much 
accustomed to public discourse as Western races. The 
priests of the native religions seldom or never preach, and 
it is much more difficult to influence people in that way 
than it is in England and America. The Chinese, in 
particular, are preeminently a people of books. Buddhism 
converted them, not by preaching, but by literature. The 
essay, the pamphlet, the placard, and more recently, the 



122 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

newspaper, are the common means of disseminating ideas. 
Christianity must make a larger use of this method if it is to 
supersede Buddhism and Confucianism. 

God's Word the Regenerating Power 
"The printed Bible goes where the living voice can not 
be heard. It brings its truths to men in the quiet hour. 
The force of its message is never lessened by controversy, 
nor perverted by error. Within a century over two hun- 
dred million copies of the Bible have been printed in three 
hundred and sixty different languages. If every missionary 
were to be banished, God's Word would remain in Asia, a 
mighty and indestructible power, operating as silently as 
the sunshine, but containing within itself the stupendous 
potency of a world's regeneration. To-day the Persian 
and the Hottentot, the Korean and the Siamese, are read- 
ing in their own tongues that ' He is able to save them to 
the uttermost that come unto God by Him, ' and we know 
that God's word shall not return unto him void. " 

Lamp of our feet, whereby we trace 

Our path, when wont to stray; 
Stream from the fount of heavenly grace, 

Brook by the traveler's way; 

Bread of our souls, whereon we feed, 

True manna from on high; 
Our guide and chart, wherein we read 

Of realms beyond the sky; 

Word of the everlasting God, 

Will of his glorious Son, 
Without thee how. could earth be trod, 

Or heaven itself be won? 

— Burton. 



Colportage an Evangelizing Agency 



" And I saw another angel fly in the midst 
of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to 
preach unto them that dwell on the earth, 
and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, 
and people. " Rev. 14 : 6. 

"Go out into the highways and hedges, and 
compel them to come in, that my house may 
be filled. " Luke 14 : 23. 

"Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; 
for they are white already to harvest. ' ' John 
4 '35- 



IV 
Colportage an Evangelizing Agency 

Foretold in Prophecy 

"DEHOLD, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, 
and they shall fish them ; and after will I send for many 
hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, 
and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks." 
Jer. 16: 16. 

In this scripture two methods of winning souls are pre- 
sented, under the familiar figures of fishing and hunting. 
The former figure is frequently used in the Scriptures. 
Jesus said to his disciples, "Follow me, and I will make you 
fishers of men;" and to Peter he said, "Henceforth thou 
shalt catch men. " 

Fishing for Fish 

The most common method of catching fish is familiar to 
every one. The fisherman supplies himself with hook and 
line, and the most attractive bait procurable. Seeking a 
quiet, shady place where the fish are most likely to be, he 
baits his hook, drops it down, and waits for a bite. The 
fish come about; they look at the bait and are tempted; 
some are frightened, and off they go; others, more bold, 
seize the bait, and are caught, and the fisherman's basket 
is filled. 

Fishing for Men 

The gospel minister, in obedience to the gospel com- 
mission, proceeds to catch men. He arms himself with 
the Word of God and with other books and tracts. He 
selects an attractive spot near where the people pass, and 
pitches his tent. Comfortable seats are provided: the 
floor is neatly covered; the speaker's stand and desk are 

125 



126 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

made as attractive as possible; charts and pictures are 
hung up; and over the speaker's stand is an arch of wel- 
come. Singers and musicians are secured, arid friendly 
invitations sent out to the people to attend the services and 
Bible studies. The ambassador for Christ is fishing for 
men. The people come at the appointed time. Some 
are seated; others stand about the tent and listen. They 
are attracted by the songs, the interesting charts, and the 
earnest words of the speaker. Some are fearful and hurry 
away; others continue to come from night to night; they 
listen, are convinced, and finally receive the message. 
A New Latter-Day Method 

But another method of work is referred to by the 
prophet. From its introduction, one would infer that this 
second method develops later in the history of the world. 
"And after," the prophet says, "will I send for many 
hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, 
and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. " 

This new line of work evidently partakes of the nature of 
a hunt. It is carried to the hills and the mountains, and 
even to the holes of the rocks. Let us study the figure. 
Hunting for Beasts 

The methods of the hunter are quite different from those 
of the fisherman. The hunter can not gather the beasts 
about him to be shot. He goes to the hills, the forests, and 
the mountains; he follows their paths, tracks them to their 
dens, and brings them home one by one. His methods 
are based upon the aggressive principle. He presses his 
warfare to the very homes of the prey he seeks. Instead 
of the patient watching and waiting and the delicate labor 
of the fisherman, he chooses the long trail, the weary 
marches, the dangers of the wilderness, and exposure from 
heat and cold and storms; but with the assurance born of 



Colportage an Evangelizing Agency 127 

experience and skill, he presses his search, and brings home 
his prize. 

Hunting for Men 

How perfect a picture is this of the work of the gospel 
colporteur! With a good supply of the weapons of his 
warfare, he goes to his hunting-ground. Along the country 
roads, mile after mile, from town to town, over mountains 
and through valleys, he searches out the people at their 
homes. He reaches those who would not otherwise hear 
the precious truth he carries. Subject to many exposures, 
deprived of the ease and comfort of home, meeting tre- 
buffs, and welcoming with thankfulness the scanty and 
precarious hospitality of an unfriendly world, he pursues 
his work to the very limits of civilization, and literally, in 
the words of the prophet, he hunts for souls "from every 
mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the 
rocks. " 

The Triumph of the Missionary Spirit 

As an organized system for the distribution of the Scrip- 
tures and other religious writings, the colporteur work 
dates back to the centuries immediately preceding the 
Reformation, when the Waldenses sowed the seeds of 
Protestantism throughout Europe. In principle, it is as 
ancient as the work of salvation for a lost world. 

The colporteur work is an outgrowth of man's personal 
responsibility for his fellow men. God has made us our 
brothers' keepers; not by long-distance efforts, but by the 
personal touc,h "without so muc^h as gloves to act as insu- 
lators." 

To some extent the colporteur work was the outgrowth 
of the persecutions of the dark ages. It was the triumph 
of the missionary spirit over the restrictions and per- 
secutions of those times that silenced the voice of the 
living preacher. 



V 



128 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

It is the nature of the gospel to bear fruit and to 
multiply. While it lives, it grows. The Word of God, 
when sown in the heart, begets a sense of personal re- 
sponsibility, and a passion for souls which manifests itself 
in active, personal service. This gospel truth is beauti- 
fully illustrated in the experiences and missionary work 
of the Waldenses, who from their Alpine valleys carried 
the printed page to all the countries of Europe. The 
story of their work is told in the following quotations from 
J. A. Wylie's "History of Protestantism," pages 14-20: — 

The Bible a Text-Book in the Waldensian Schools 

"The youth who sat at the feet of the more venerable 
and learned of their barbes, used as their text-book the 
Holy Scriptures. And not only did they study the Sacred 
Volume; they were required to commit to memory, and be 
able accurately to recite, whole Gospels and epistles. This 
was a necessary accomplishment on the part of public 
instructors in those ages when printing was unknown, and 
copies of the Word of God were rare. Part of their time 
was occupied in transcribing the Holy Scriptures, or por- 
tions of them, which they were to distribute when they 
went forth as missionaries. By this, and by other agencies, 
the seed of the Divine Word was scattered throughout 
Europe more widely than is commonly supposed. To this 
a variety of causes contributed. There was then a general 
impression that the world was soon to end. . . . The 
hour of deep and universal slumber had passed. 
The New Testament, — and, as we learn from incidental 
notices, portions of the Old, — coming at this juncture in a . 
language understood alike in the court as in the camp, in 
the city as in the rural hamlet, was welcome to many, and 
its truths obtained a wider promulgation than perhaps had 
taken place since the publication of the Vulgate by Jerome- 



Colportage an Evangelizing Agency 129 

In the Universities of Europe 

"After passing a certain time in the schools of the 
barbes, it was not uncommon for the Waldensian youth to 
proceed to the seminaries in the great cities of Lombard v. 
or to the Sorbonne, at Paris. There they saw other cus- 
toms, were initiated into other studies, and had a wider 
horizon around them than in the seclusion of their native 
valleys. Many of them became expert dialecticians, and 
often made converts of the rich merchants with whom 
they traded, and the landlords in whose houses they lodged. 
The priests seldom cared to meet in argument the Walden- 
sian missionary. 

The Waldenses a Missionary People 

"To maintain the truth in their own mountains, was not 
the only object of this people. They felt their relations to 
the rest of Christendom. They sought to drive back the 
darkness, and reconquer the kingdom which Rome had 
overwhelmed. They were an evangelistic as well as an 
evangelical church. It was an old law among them that 

\ all who took orders in their church should, before being 
eligible to a home charge, serve three years in the mission 
field. The youth on whose head the assembled "barbes 
laid their hands, saw in prospect, not a rich benefice, but a 
possible martyrdom. The ocean they clid not cross. 

; Their mission field was the realms that lay outspread at 
the foot of their own mountains. 

Two and Two Disguised as Pedlers 

"They went forth two and two, concealing their real 
character under the guise of a secular profession, most 
commonly that of merchants or pedlers. They carried 
silks, jewelry, and other articles, at that time not easily 
purchasable save at distant marts, and they were wel- 
comed as merchants where they would have been spurned 
9 



130 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

as missionaries. The door of the cottage and the portal 
of the baron's castle stood equally open to them. But 
their address was mainly shown in selling, without money 
and without price, rarer and more valuable merchandise 
than the gems and silks which had procured them entrance. 
They took care to carry with them, concealed among their 
wares, or about their persons, portions of the Word of God, 
their own transcription commonly, and to this they would 
draw the attention of the inmates. When they saw a 
desire to possess it, they would freely make a gift of it 
where the means of purchase were absent. 

To All Southern and Central Europe 
"There was no kingdom of southern and central Europe 
to which these missionaries did not find their way, and 
where they did not leave traces of their visit in the dis- 
ciples whom they made. On the west they penetrated into 
Spain. In southern France they found congenial fellow 
laborers in the Albigenses, by whom the seeds of truth 
were plentifully scattered over Dauphine and Languedoc. 
On the east, descending the Rhine and the Danube, they 
leavened Germany, Bohemia, and Poland with their doc- 
trines,* their track being marked with the edifices for wor- 
ship and the stakes of martyrdom that arose around their 

steps. * 

On the Tiber 

"Even the Seven-hilled City they feared not to enter, 
scattering the seed on ungenial soil, if perchance some of it 
might take root and grow. Their naked feet and coarse 
woolen garments made them somewhat marked figures in 
the streets of a city that clothed itself in purple and fine 
linen; and when their real errand was discovered, as some- 
times chanced, the rulers of Christendom took care to 
further, in their own way, the springing of the seed, by 
watering it with the blood of the men who had sowed it. 



Colportage an Evangelizing Agency 131 

Wasting the Sowers but Watering the Seed 

"Thus did the Bible in those ages, veiling its majesty 
and its mission, travel silently through Christendom, 
entering homes and hearts, and there making its abode. 
From her lofty seat, Rome looked down with contempt 
upon the Book and its humble bearers. She aimed at 
bowing the necks of kings, thinking if they were obedient, 
meaner men would not dare revolt; and so she took little 
heed of a power which, weak as it seemed, was destined at a 
future day to break in pieces the fabric of her dominion. 
By and by she began to be uneasy, and to have a boding of 
calamity. The penetrating eye of Innocent III detected 
the quarter whence danger was to arise. He saw in the 
labors of these humble men the beginning of a movement 
which, if permitted to go on and gather strength, would one 
day sweep away all that it had taken the toils and intrigues 
of centuries to achieve. He straightway commenced 
those terrible crusades which wasted the sowers, but wa- 
tered the seed, and helped to bring on at its appointed hour 
the catastrophe which he sought to avert. 

The Seed-Sowers of Protestantism 

"The antiquity of the Waldenses is the antiquity of 
Protestantism. The church of the Reformation was in the 
loins of the Waldensian church ages before the birth of 
Luther; her first cradle was placed amid those terrors and 
sublimities, those ice-clad peaks and great bulwarks of 

1 rock. In their dispersion over so many lands — over 
France, the Low Countries, Germany, Poland, Bohemia, 

i Moravia, England, Calabria, Naples — the Waldenses 

i sowed the seeds of that great spiritual revival which, 
beginning in the days of Wyclif, and advancing in the 
times of Luther and Calvin, awaits its full consummation 

i in the ages to come." 



132 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

Bale-Bearers 

The colporteurs, or book-hawkers, as they were com- 
monly called, were among the most active agents of the 
Reformation. De Felice, in his "History of the Protes- 
tants of France," says: — 

"They were called bale-bearers, basket or literary 
carriers. They belonged to different classes of society; 
many were students in theology, or even ministers of the 
gospel. Staff in hand, basket on back, through heat and 
cold, by lonely ways, through mountain ravines and dreary 
morasses, they went from door to door, often ill received, 
always at the hazard of their lives, and not knowing in the 
morning where to lay their head at night. It was chiefly 
through them that the Bible penetrated into the manor of 
the noble as well as the hut of the peasant." 

The Most Hated and the Most Feared 

"The most hated and the most feared of all the agents of 
reform, in this remarkable period, by priest and pope, was 
the humble colporteur, or Bible seller. Laden with his 
little pack of Bibles, Testaments, and Protestant treatises, 
the godly merchant made his way from Antwerp or Geneva 
into the heart of France, and, beneath the hot summer sun 
or in the snows of winter, pursued with patient toil his 
dangerous traffic. He knew that if detected he must die; 
he felt that the keen eyes of inquisitors and priests were 
everywhere watching for his coming. Yet, often disguised 
as a pedler of ribbons and trinkets, he made his way into the 
castles of the nobles or the homes of the working men, and 
cautiously exposed his forbidden wares. They were 
bought with eagerness, and read by noble and peasant. 
3ut not seldom the daring missionary was discovered and 
punished; his little stock of Bibles was dragged forth and 
burned by rejoicing priests, and the humble Bible seller 



Colportage an Evangelizing Agency 133 

was himself sacrificed, in fearful tortures, to the dreadful 
deity at Rome." — "Historical Studies" by Eugene Lau- 
rence, pages 2 $7, 258. . 

Martyrdom to Booksellers 
"A citizen of Venice, named Gaspard Tauber, had cir- 
culated the works of Luther, and had himself written 
against the invocation of saints, purgatory, and transub- 
stantiation. Being thrown into prison, he was summoned 
by the judges, as well theologians as lawyers, to retract his 
errors. It was thought that he was willing to do so, 
and everything was prepared to give the people of Vienna 
the solemn spectacle. On the birthday of Mars, two 
desks were erected in the cemetery of St. Stephen, the one 
for the leader of the choir, Avho was to chant in celebration 
of the heretic's repentance, and the other for Tauber him- 
self. The form of recantation was put into his hand; the 
people, the singers, and the priests were waiting in silence. 
Whether Tauber had not given any promise, or whether, 
at the moment of abjuration, his faith suddenly 'revived 
with new force, he exclaimed: 'I am not convinced, and I 
appeal to the holy Roman empire.' The ecclesiastics, the 
choir, and the people were amazed. But Tauber con- 
tinued to demand death sooner than deny the gospel. 
He was beheaded, and his body was burned. His courage 
made a lasting impression on the citizens of Vienna. 

" Blood Succeeds Blood " 
"At Buda, in Hungary, an evangelical bookseller, 
named John, had circulated the Xew Testament and 
Luther's writings throughout the country. He was tied 
to a stake, then all his books were gradually piled around 
him, and set on fire. John displayed unshaken courage, 
exclaiming from the midst of the flames that he was happy 
in suffering for the Lord. 'Blood succeeds blood!' ex- 



134 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

claimed Luther, on hearing of his death; 'but this noble 
blood which Rome is pleased to shed, will at length suffo- 
cate the Pope with all his kingdoms and all his kings.'" — 
"History of the Reformation," by D'Aubigne, book 10, 
chap. 6. 

Lucian Recommends Zwingli 

11 But the labors of a single individual were not sufficient. 
A person, named Lucian, one day came to Zwingli with 
the writings of the German Reformer. He had been sent 
by Rhenan, a learned man, then resident at Basel, and 
indefatigable in circulating the Reformer's writings 
throughout Switzerland. Rhenan had become aware 
that the hawking of books was an important means of 
diffusing evangelical doctrine. Lucian had traveled almost 
over the whole of Switzerland, and knew everybody. 
'See,' said Rhenan to Zwingli, 'whether this Lucian has the 
necessary prudence and ability; if he has, let him go from 
town to town, burgh to burgh, village to village, and even 
from house to house, among the Swiss, with Luther's 
writings, especially his exposition on the Lord's Prayer, 
written for the laity. The more he is known, the more 
purchasers will he find. But care must be taken not to 
let him hawk other books. If he has none but Luther's* 
his sale of them will be the greater.' Thus the humble 
roof of many a Swiss family was penetrated with some 
rays of light." — Id., book 8, chap. 6. 

An Itinerant Library in England 
"In the county of Lincoln, on the shores of the North 
Sea, along the fertile banks of the Humber, the Trent, and 
the Witham, and on the slopes of the smiling hills, dwelt 
many peaceful Christians — laborers, artificers, and shep- 
herds — who spend their days in toil, in keeping their 
flocks, in doing good, and in reading the Bible. The more 



Colportage an Evangelizing Agency 135 

the gospel light increased in England, the greater was the 
increase in the number of these children of peace. These 
'just men,' as they were called, were devoid of human 
knowledge, but they thirsted for the knowledge of God. 
On Sundays and holidays they assembled in each other's 
houses, and sometimes passed a whole night in reading 
portions of the Scriptures. 

"As books were rare, these pious Christians had es- 
tablished a kind of itinerant library, and one John Scrive- 
ner was continually engaged in carrying the precious 
volumes from one to another; but at times, as he was pro- 
ceeding along the banks of the river or through the forest 
glades, he observed that he was followed. He would 
quicken his pace, and run into some barn, where friendly 
peasants promptly hid him beneath the straw, or like the 
spies of Israel, under the stalks of flax. The bloodhounds 
arrived, sought, and found nothing; and more than once 
those who so generously harbored these evangelists cruelly 
expiated the crime of charity." — Id., book 18, chap. 7. 
Booksellers in France 

"Such were the principal means by (used by colporteurs) 
which these writings were circulated. Farel and his 
friends consigned the books to certain pedlers, or col- 
porteurs, simple and pious men, who, laden with their 
precious burden, passed from town to town, from village to 
village, and from house to house, knocking at every door. 
And as early as 1524, there existed at Basel a Bible society, 
a tract society, and an association of colporteurs, for the 
benefit of France. . . . 

" Baxter, in the following century, seems to have writ- 
ten and labored with a similar view, saying he ' would rather 
be the author of books to be carried in pedlers ' packs to 
the poor man's door than of books to stand in golden 
libraries.'" — " Colportage, 1 ' by Fison, pages 20-22. 




136 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

Faithful Unto Death 

"Barthelemy Hector was a bookseller in Poitiers, 
man of warm but well-tempered zeal, he traveled as far as 
the Valleys, diffusing that knowledge that maketh wise 
unto salvation. In the assemblage of white peaks that 
took down on the Pra del Tor is one named La Vechera, so 
called because the cows love the rich grass that clothes its 
sides in summer-time. Barthelemy Hector would take 
his seat on the slopes of the mountain, and gathering the 
herdsmen and agriculturists of the Pra round him, would 
induce them to buy his books, by reading passages to them. 
Portions of the Scriptures also would he recite to the 
grandames and maidens as they watched their goats or 
plied the distaff. His steps were tracked by the Inquisitor, 
even amid these wild solitudes. He was dragged to Turin, 
to answer for the crime of selling Genevese books. His 
defense before his judges discovered an admirable courage 
and wisdom. 

"'You have been caught in the act,' said his judge, 'of 
selling books that contain heresy. What say you?' 

" ' If the Bible is heresy to you, it is truth to me,' replied 
the prisoner. 

w ' But you use the Bible to deter men from going to 
mass,' urged the judge. 

" ' If the Bible deters men from going to mass,' responded 
Barthelemy, 'it is proof that God disapproves of it, and 
that the mass is idolatry.' 

"The judge, deeming it expedient to make short shrift 
with such a heretic, exclaimed, 'Retract!' 

"'I have spoken only the truth,' said the bookseller: 
'can I change truth as I would a garment?' 

" His judges kept him some months in prison, in the hope 
that his recantation would save them the necessity of 
burning him. This unwillingness to have resort to the 



Colportage an Evangelizing Agency 137 

last penalty was owing to no feeling for the prisoner, but 
entirely to the conviction that these repeated executions 
were endangering the cause of their church. 'The smoke 
of these martyr-piles,' as was said with reference to the 
death of Patrick Hamilton, 'was infecting those on whom 
it blew.' But the constancy of Barthelemy compelled his 
persecutors to disregard these prudential considerations. 
At last, despairing of his abjuration they brought him 
forth and consigned him to the flames. His behavior at 
the stake 'drew rivers of tears,' says Leger, 'from the eyes 
of many in the popish crowd around his stake, while others 
vented reproaches and invectives against the cruelty of the 
monks and the inquisitors." — " History of the Waldenses," 
by J. A. Wylie, pages 67, 68. 

A Cannon Opens the Gates of Rome to a Colporteur 

"The result of the brief but terrible campaign of 1870, 
in which the French empire disappeared and the German 
uprose, was the opening of the gates of Rome. And let us 
mark — for in the little incident we hear the voice of ten 
centuries — in the first rank of the soldiers whose cannon 
had burst open the old gates, there enters a Vaudois col- 
porteur with a bundle of Bibles. The Waldenses now 
kindle their lamp at Rome, and the purpose of the ages 
stands revealed!" — Id., page 212. 

Julian Hernandez Begins Work in Spain 

"There had been printed and published in Germany a 
Spanish translation of the Bible, as well as other Protestant 
books, either written in the original in this language or 
translated by Spanish Reformers who had been obliged to 
flee to other lands on account of religious persecution. 
I From time to time different individuals succeeded in 
1 crossing the Pyrenees with copies of these writings. But 
such cases were rare, until finally a Spaniard named Julian 



138 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

Hernandez, of Geneva, a proof-reader, stimulated only by 
his love for the Reformation, proposed to introduce large 
quantities of these books into his fatherland. 

''He contrived to avoid the vigilance of the customs 
officials and (a task which was more difficult) the spies of 
the Inquisition, and at last succeeded in landing two large 
boxes of the prohibited books, which were immediately 
distributed among those of the new communion." — "His- 
tory of Philip II " by Prescott. 

Again, speaking of the circulation of these books, the 
historian says : — 

"From the publishing houses of Germany they were 
despatched to Flanders, and from there to Spain, first by 
the seaports, and afterward, when the government became 
more vigilant, they were sent to Lyons, France, whence 
they were introduced into the peninsula via Navarra and 
Aragon. These books were sold at a low price, that they 
might have a larger circulation." — " Reminiscences of the 
Reformation in Spain," by E. Martinez. 

Evading the Vigilance of the Inquisition 

Speaking more especially concerning the work of the 
colporteur Hernandez, the same writer says: — 

"The publication of several of these different works 
having been concluded, there remained the great difficulty 
to overcome of introducing them in Spain, because of the 
extreme vigilance of the authorities in those times when 
the terrible tribunal of the Inquisition ruled with all her 
power, and no Spaniard could be found who possessed 
sufficient courage and daring to cross the Pyrenees with 
these books into Spain. 

"At last, in Julian Hernandez they found a man who 
with surprising valor undertook this work. He was com- 
monly called 'Julianillo' (little Julian) because he was so 
small. But in the little body of Hernandez there was a 



Colportage an Evangelizing Agency 139 

big soul and intellect. He accepted the principles of the 
Reformation, in Germany. Seeing that no way opened to 
convey these books, and moved by an ardent desire to 
spread the knowledge of the gospel in his fatherland, and as 
no one else asked for this work, he himself resolved to intro- 
duce into Spain large quantities of the Scriptures in Span- 
ish, and various other Protestant books. 

"He put the books inside of two wine-barrels, and taking 
the road to Flanders, he proceeded with such sagacity and 
coolness that at every point he evaded the vigilance of the 
agents of the Inquisition, and deposited this cargo safe 
and sound in Seville. From there the books were dis- 
tributed." 

Of the faithful work of this soldier of Christ, a Jesuit 
writer says: — 

"He was a Spaniard by birth, but reared in Germany 
among the heretics, where he drank the heretical poison to 
the extent that the principal heresiarchs, imitating what 
we read of in the Acts of the Apostles, elected him as one of 
the seven deacons of their church. 

"He left Germany with the design to corrupt the whole 
of Spain. He traveled over a large portion of her territory, 
distributing in the various districts large numbers of books 
containing perverse doctrines, and sowing the heresies of 
Luther in both men and women, especially in Seville. He 
was astute and cunning beyond measure, a proper req- 
uisite of heretics. He did great harm in Castile and 
Andalusia. Wherever he traveled,' he went in and out 
with all security, owing to his arts and artifices, starting a 
fire in every place he set foot on." — Id. 

But the work of this faithful colporteur could not last 
long. In one of his journeys through Flanders, Hernandez 
gave a copy of the New Testament to a blacksmith, who 
showed it to the priest, at the same time describing the 



140 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

man who had given it to him. The priest, of course, wrote 
at once to the Spanish Inquisitors. They soon caught 
Hernandez near Palma, took him to Seville, and thrust him 
into the prison of the Inquisition. 

The holy (?) Inquisition lost little time in putting him to 
the torture of the rack, with the hope of compelling him 
to give the names of the persons to whom he had sold 
books. Not succeeding in this, after keeping him shut up 
several months in the dungeon, they burned him at the 
stake, together with various others who had accepted the 
doctrines of the Reformation through the books he had 
sold them. 

The Revival of Colportage Work in the 
Nineteenth Century 

Near the beginning of the nineteenth century, a little 
company of students attending a college at Geneva, who 
thirsted for the water of life, and who sorrowed because of 
the dark clouds of popery and infidelity that had settled 
over France, were in the habit of meeting together fre- 
quently for Bible study. 

Finally these devoted youths were joined by Robert 
Haldane in the year 1 8 1 7. Haldane was a devoted student 
of the Scriptures, and loved evangelical work. Being a 
young man of brilliant talents, he soon became the ac- 
knowledged leader of this devoted band. On making 
inquiry, he was able to learn of only five ministers in the 
whole of southern France who were teaching the pure 
doctrines of the gospel. Few copies of the Word of God 
could be found in all France, and not a copy could be 
secured in Paris. 

This little band of students decided to work a change in 
France. They were soon joined by Henri Pyt, who be- 
came one of the first colporteurs sent forth by the Evan- 
gelical Society of France. To the zeal and faithfulness 



Colportage an Evangelizing Agency 141 

of these young men, under the leadership of Haldane 
and Pyt, is ascribed the revival of colportage in the 
nineteenth century as an evangelizing agency. 

"In 1820 a Frenchman, named Ladam, who had served 
under Napoleon, became a believer in the Lord Jesus, and 
immediately devoted himself to the work of Bible col- 
portage, under the direction and guidance of Henri Pyt. 
Ladam was privileged during the following years to put 
into circulation twelve thousand copies of the Holy Scrip- 
tures, and was the instrument of establishing several 
Protestant congregations. 

"It has been well said that it is evident 'the Lord's 
finger pointed out the plan of colporting his Holy Word 
and his blessing has never for a moment forsaken it.' 

Suited to the Continent of Europe 

"When colportage was thus recommenced, popery and 
infidelity reigned throughout the greater part of the Con- 
tinent — the one hiding the Bible, the other rejecting it. 
To carry the Word of God to the homes of the Roman 
Catholic population required an instrumentality that 
should easily gain access to the great mass of the people, 
and it was found in this simple but aggressive agency for 
evangelization. 

"At first but a small beginning was made, but the two 
or three colporteurs sent forth were very devoted men, and 
it was quickly manifested, by the success with which their 
labors were blessed, that the system of colportage was 
preeminently the one suited to the Continent of Europe. 

"Soon, however, the seed sown in weakness, often in 
tears, began to bring forth precious fruit. 

"The colporteurs found that the gospel had entered the 
hearts of some of the unbelieving, and others who had 
hitherto been indifferent became believers in Christ. 



142 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

Evangelists were loudly called for in several districts where 
the humble colporteurs had been laboring, and erelong the 
Free Church of Geneva had the happiness of sending two 
of their most experienced ministers, one of whom was to 
go, gather together and feed, as a faithful shepherd, the 
souls brought to the knowledge of the truth through col- 
portage, while the other was to visit the pastors of the 
churches in the south; and this was but the beginning of 
their work in the evangelization of France." — " Col- 
portage" by Fison, pages 5 5-60. 

Beyond the Bounds of France 

The revival of colportage in France took place before the 
organization of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and 
may be regarded as one of the primary incentives or en- 
couragements to the organization of the Bible societies of 
England and the United States, whose colporteurs have 
carried the Scriptures by the millions into all countries 
of the earth during the past fifty years. 

The revival in France was not to be confined to tha 
country. The light was not to be placed under a bushel 
Soon the work extended to Belgium, where these pioneer 
colporteurs distributed great numbers of Bibles, and 
taught the gospel from house to house. As the result of 
their work, many Protestant congregations sprang up 
in Belgium, where not one had existed previous to the 
beginning of the colporteur work there in the year 1835. 
One illustration will suffice: — 

A Roman Catholic purchased a copy of the Bible, read it 
carefully, and was convinced of the errors of his church. 
Soon after, a great stir was raised by the priests, and vio- 
lent opposition broke out against the selling of Bibles by 
the colporteurs. A son of the Roman Catholic already 
mentioned, who had refused to read his father's Bible, 



! 



i 



Colportage an Evangelizing Agency 143 

became interested through this contention, and purchased 
a copy to compare it with his father 's. His sister joined in 
the study, and this family became the nucleus of a Protes- 
tant congregation numbering four hundred persons. 

Encouraged by their success, the Geneva and Paris 
Bible Societies continued to push out into new fields, and 
in a few years other devoted colporteurs, like an army 
under strong leadership, were carrying the Word of Life 
through Holland, Germany, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, 
Italy, and Turkey. 

And this was but the beginning of a movement that was 
to become world-wide. On the earnest recommendations 
of an agent of the Bible society in Paris, the British and 
American Bible Societies were organized, and took up the 
great task of translating the Bible into many languages, 
and of carrying it, in the hands of colporteurs, to all the 
dark corners of the earth. The great work of these so- 
cieties, which has made the Bible inexpensive, and has 
placed it in the native tongues of nearly all people in the 
world, is one of the most aggressive and interesting move- 
ments ever set on foot in the history of Christian evan- 
gelization. 

Colportage a Necessity 

Colportage and the press are necessary to each other, so 
far as the publication of the gospel is concerned. The 
press must multiply copies of the Word, and the colporteur 
must urge it upon the people. Unless we are prepared to 
throw away "the million-tongued press" as a means of 
saving souls, we must continue to support the colporteur 
work. The question is not whether we shall distribute 
literature through the common channels of trade or by 
means of colporteurs, but the question is whether the work 
shall be done by colporteurs or not be done at all. "Never 
in all the history of the church," says a distinguished pro- 



144 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

fessor of ecclesiastical history, "has there been so power- 
ful an instrumentality which could be worked so cheaply." 
"What we greatly need is more missionaries to sow the 
seed of eternal life. The fields are white to the harvest. 
Glorious is the prospect of the outpouring of the Holy 
Spirit on all the ends of the earth. Laborers are wanted in 
the heathen vineyard of the Lord. As yet, the missionary 
has only put in the thin end of the wedge toward the 
advancement of the kingdom of heaven in the dark places 
of the earth which are still full of the habitations of 
cruelty." — Dr. Livingstone's Cambridge Lecture. 

Thy Kingdom Come 

"Every professed, follower of Christ in this land is 
accustomed to say in his prayers to Almighty God, 'Thy 
kingdom come;' and, therefore, every one who is not a 
hypocrite should labor to promote its advancement. To 
all who hope for salvation from him, Jesus has said, 'The 
harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray 
ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth 
laborers into his harvest.' Each man, therefore, should 
either help to sustain those laborers whom God has sent 
forth, or renounce his pretention to follow Christ. ' Go ye 
and disciple all nations, ' \ Go ye into all the world, and 
preach the gospel to every creature,' are the words of our 
Lord and Master to all his followers. Let each man, there- 
fore, obey them, or own himself to be a renegade who de- 
spises his authority." — "England and India," by Baptist 
Noel. 

A Word From Mr. Moody 

"As I have gone through the country in my evangelistic 
work, I have been surprised to notice the great lack of good 
religious reading-matter to be had at a price within the 
reach of the poor as well as the rich. 



Colportage an Evangelizing Agency 145 

"Principally, to supply this need, displacing the impure 
literature with which the country is flooded, and to carry 
the gospel by means of the printed page to the forty mil- 
lions of people in the United States who never go to church, 
the Colportage Library was started. 

"I want to get an earnest Christian man^or woman in 
every village and town, and many in the cities, to take up 
the work with those good books. ' It is the Master's serv- 
ice, and there is financial remuneration for any who will 
engage in it." — D. L. Moody. 
Ten Reasons for Engaging in the Colporteur Work 

"1. It is God's work, preeminently so, in. its aim, 
method, and blessing attendant. It is a definite form of 
Christian work, not merely bookselling. 

"2. It carries the gospel into thousands of homes where 
pastors or other Christian workers do not usually or can 
not go. 

"3. By it the greatest amount of good, through direct 
contact, can be done to the largest number. People will 
read an attractive book who can not be gotten to church. 

"4. It presents countless opportunities for doing per- 
sonal work, and for enlisting men's lives and sympathies 
in the cause of Christ. 

"5. It supplements all other evangelical agencies for 
the promotion of the kingdom of God among men. There- 
need be no fear of rivalry or competition; Christian col- 
porteurs are wanted everywhere. 

"6. It may be undertaken in so great a variety of ways 
— home to home, churches, societies, conventions, mail, 
lectures, etc. 

"7. The plan of colportage visiting, or 'book mission- 
ary ' work, is applicable anywhere, city, town, and country. 

"8. The work is not an experiment, but an established 
and thoroughly tried method of reaching the people, es- 
10 




146 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

pecially those who do not go to church nor care for re 
ligious things. 

"9. The opportunity offered to travel, see the countr 
and meet people of all classes. 

"10. It provides employment at the smallest outlay of 
money, and the least possible risk of failure or loss. The 
remuneration offered is liberal and in proportion to the 
amount of time and energy expended. Diligent and con- 
secrated men and women make all expenses, and enough 
more to provide a reserve fund." — Copied from an adver- 
isement. 

A Universal Gospel Method 

The colporteur work is one of God's great universal 
agencies for carrying the everlasting gospel "to every 
nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." It may 
properly be called a universal agent, from two points 
of view: First, the literature provided for the colporteurs' 
use is so varied in form, and can be used in so many 
ways, that both old and young, educated and ignorant, 
are enabled to have a part in the work; second, it is an 
effective agent for carrying the gospel to all nations, 
whether Protestant, Catholic, or heathen. 

A Work for All 

. It is the aim of the Publishing Department of Seventh- 
day Adventists to provide such literature and so to organ- 
ize the work that every man, woman, and child in the 
denomination can have some part in its distribution. 
Subscription books are provided for trained and experi- 
enced colporteurs who can give their entire time to that 
work. Magazines and other periodicals are provided for 
colporteurs of less experience, and for many who work in 
the great cities. Home workers' books are provided for 
the many who can not leave their homes, but who can 



Colportage an Evangelizing Agency 147 

become resident colporteurs in their respective vicinities. 
Tracts and missionary papers are provided for all to 
scatter far and wide. Even the sick, confined at home, 
can send this cheap literature out on its mission by post. 
The members of the Publishing Department have set 
themselves the definite task of persevering in this work 
until ever} 7 representative of the third angel's message is 
helping to distribute the printed page. 

The Testimony of an Opponent 

One who for many years was a minister of this denomi- 
nation, attempted to write up the work of Seventh-day 
Adventists for the Christian Standard (Cincinnati, Ohio) 
of September, 1906, in such a way as to place them in an un- 
favorable light before the public. His undertaking proved 
something like that of Balaam, who was hired by Balak to 
curse Israel, and his success was similar; for when Balaam 
opened his mouth to curse Israel, he said: "How goodly 
are thy tents, O Israel ! " So in this case ; in his attempt to 
speak against Seventh-day Adventists, this writer said : — 

"Many suppose that Adventism is a small local affair 
soon to pass away. This is a great mistake. While this 
people has not made a rapid growth, like some other re- 
ligious bodies, yet they are increasing each year more than 
the year before. More than this, they are laying the 
foundations for a wide and lasting work. They are here 
to stay, and to become more aggressive as time goes 
on. ... So far as I know, not another set of people of 
any sect according to their number is doing anywhere near 
what the Adventists are doing in the circulation of de- 
nominational literature. Millions upon millions of copies 
of their works, small and large, are annually scattered over 
the earth. They have a thoroughly organized system of 
working, which aims to put into active service every mem- 



148 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

ber of their society, from the little child to the oldest 
grandma. . . . It is arranged so that every one can 
do something, no matter how poor or ignorant he may be." 

The Field of the Publishing Department 

In the Monthly Missionary Reading of Jan. 14, 191 1, 
Elder A. G. Daniells made the following statement con- 
cerning the work of the Publishing Department: — 

"Our Publishing Department occupies a place of great 
importance in the extension and finishing of our work. It 
has grown to large proportions. There are at present 
nearly two thousand five hundred men and women giving 
their entire time to the production and distribution of 
literature throughout the world. The preparation of 
periodicals, books, pamphlets, and tracts for circulation in 
sixty-five different languages, and the training and wise 
direction of an army of workers to distribute this reading- 
matter among so many nationalities, demand constant, 
efficient, heroic effort. While we have more workers in 
this department than ever before, and the sales of our 
literature are far in advance of what they have ever been in 
the past, yet the demands for larger endeavor are pressing 
heavily upon us." 

An Effective Agent in All Nations 

In a missionary talk Elder O. A. Olsen, a former presi- 
dent of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 
said: "So far as I know, literature has pioneered the way 
into every country where the third angel's message has 
gone." A careful inquiry from several thousand Seventh- 
day Adventists has indicated that about one third of our 
number accepted the truth directly from reading literature, 
and it is acknowledged that literature has acted an im- 
portant part in making effective and permanent the results 
of all other features of the gospel missionary work. 



Colportage an Evangelizing Agency 149 

The gospel minister uses literature largely in his work 
from the desk and from house to house. The Bible worker 
leaves tracts and papers wherever she goes. Several 
thousand colporteurs are scattering many millions of pages 
of literature every year. Lay members in our churches 
make the circulation of literature the basis of their neigh- 
borhood missionary work. 

Three colporteurs were pioneers of the message in Argen- 
tina and Brazil; three others led the way into Chile, and 
many companies of believers were raised up before a 
minister was sent to South America. And in all the other 
great Spanish fields — Spain, Mexico, Cuba, Porto Rico, 
and the Philippine Islands — trained colporteurs are 
preparing the way for the gospel minister. 

In Japan, native colporteurs, under a native leader, are 
doing good, successful pioneer work. In China, the native 
colporteur work is becoming a mighty factor. Elder I. H. 
Evans, one of the vice-presidents of the General Con- 
ference, and superintendent of our work in the Far East, 
reported to the Mission Board, in 1910, that there were at 
that time twenty-five companies of Chinese Sabbath- 
keepers in China who had never seen a white missionary, 
all of them having learned the truth through the literature, 
and from the personal labors of native colporteurs. 

Preparation for the Gospel Ministry 

"The bearings of colportage on the rising ministry have 
arrested the attention of thoughtful observers of the times. 
Valuable as have been the aids to ministerial instruction 
afforded by colleges and theological institutions, the want 
has been deeply felt of the practical element, for which no 
measure of scholastic attainments can compensate in an 
eminently practical age. Abstraction from the world, 
and exclusive devotion to study during the period when 



150 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

those preparing for other pursuits are gaining a knowledge 
of men and things, and are becoming skilled in their re- 
spective professions and trades, have been felt to leave 
some deficiency in the training of pastors; and, at the risk 
of offending the pride and prejudice of many, we would ask 
if the employment of candidates for the ministry in col- 
portage and kindred labors, during a part of the year, 
might not well compensate for the loss of that familiarity 
with the routine of pastoral duties experienced by the 
young student. 

Clinical Practise 

WI 'I have always felt, ' said the excellent rector of White- 
chapel, 'that if a number of young men were engaged to do 
this work, to be visiting from house to house, and gaining 
practical experience, which nothing but clinical practise 
gives the spiritual surgeon as well as the other surgeon, an 
immense good would have been derived to the church 
by such a class of young men in their first start in the 
ministry.' 

"It is a fact of striking import that of the early student 
colporteurs employed in the United States, a large number 
are now toiling as missionaries of the cross in India, China, 
and the islands of the sea. And the testimony of the pro- 
fessors of American colleges, and of the young men them- 
selves, is uniform, that the periods devoted to this service 
are among the most profitable of their preparatory course. 

Practical Men for a Practical Age 
"Practical men, and practical truth, and practical 
measures for applying and diffusing the truth, are the 
paramount wants of a practical age. The active, in- 
quiring mind of the Anglo-Saxon race can not be curbed 
and directed aright by an inexperienced novice or recluse. 
The present is an age of religious inquiry; and, in the words 



Colportage an Evangelizing Agency 151 

of President Hopkins, ' If there were ever needed in the 
ministry men, true men, whose hearts were in sympathy 
with the great beating and throbbing heart of an agitated 
humanity, and at the same time in sympathy with God, 
they are needed now, when these moral earthquakes are 
overturning thrones and convulsing the nations. Men, 
true men, men of God, earnest, practical men, fitted not 
to fill places, but to do a great work, are what the 
church needs.' 

Three Months a Year for Three Years 
"How, then, shall such men be trained? — Not by 
study alone, not by action alone. I am far from supposing 
that any mode of training will make all such; that any 
mode will prevent some from becoming such. Still, it 
will be generally true that men will be what their training 
tends to make them. And what better can a young man 
do for this end than to spend three months a year in this 
service? If it had been the design of Providence to insti- 
tute a method of training to meet the case, we hardly see 
how anything better could have been devised. Let him 
take his bundle of books, and, with his eyes and ears open, 
go on foot to all classes of people. Let him go where all the 
conventual restraints are removed, where poverty is press- 
ing, where enterprise is struggling, where iniquity, and 
sensuality, and infidelity, and a backsliding Christianity 
are hiding themselves; where various religious interests and 
denominations are conflicting, and he will get more insight 
into the true feelings of the people, their wants, their 
prejudices, their strange misapprehensions, and the best 
way of approaching them, than he could by hearing lec- 
tures, or preaching as a settled pastor all his days. Let 
him do this three months in a year for three years, and his 
training will be all that could be desired." — " Colportage," 
by Fison, pages 31-36. 



152 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

Our denominational schools and publishing houses have 
cooperated in making provision for just such practical 
training as is suggested in the foregoing quotation. The 
school terms are from eight to nine months in length, 
leaving from three to four months' vacation period for 
' 'clinical practise" in colporteur work. 

A large number of advanced students, from all the 
schools, whether preparing for the ministry, for medical 
work, teaching, or for some other department of service, 
avail themselves of scholarships offered for the sale of 
certain amounts of literature during the vacation period. 

Not only is this plan a financial success for the pub- 
lishing houses, schools, and students, but it also gives a 
combination of technical study and field training which is 
most helpful and practical. 

Book knowledge without field work makes a student 
top-heavy. It gives him too much sail in proportion 
to his ballast. He becomes heavy, abstract, and imprac- 
tical in his work. His book knowledge needs to be worked 
into the real sinews of life by personal service for his fellow 
men, or it will be of little value. Colportage provides the 
best possible opportunity for such preparatory training. 



Colportage and the Aggressive 
Principle 



14 Launch out into the deep, and let down your 
nets for a draught" Luke 5 : 4. 



V 



Colportage and the Aggressive 
Principle 

T ITTLE is said in the Scriptures to justify the more or 
■"■^ less prevalent modern idea that people must be called 
together into beautiful halls and churches to listen to 
eloquent preachers and talented choirs in order to hear the 
gospel. "Go ye into all the world and preach" is the 
gospel commission. If the modern idea, which largely 
casts aside the aggressive principle, were right, the com- 
mission might more properly read, "Come ye from the 
ends of the earth and hear the gospel which is preached 
to you." 

But this is not the divine plan. When man was lost, 
God sent his Son Jesus into the world to save him. The 
shepherd, in the parable, left the ninety and nine, and 
went into the mountains to search for the one lost sheep. 
The gospel must be carried to all, without trusting to the 
uncertain hope of their coming after it. 

Our Feet Precede Our Conquests 

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him 
that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that 
bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation." 
Isa. 52: 7. 

Who are these messengers described by tjie prophet? 
They go on foot; their path includes the mountains; they 
bring good tidings of salvation; they are publishers. The 
word publishers is significant. It is used twice in this 

155 



156 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

one verse. Immediately we think of the gospel colpor- 
teurs — those hunters who "hunt them from every moun- 
tain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks." 
The colporteur is certainly included in this beautiful eulogy, 
even though he is not specifically named by the prophet. 
In this figure of speech the feet only of the messenger are 
mentioned, to give emphasis to the thought that the mes- 
sage^must be carried to the place of its conquest. "Every 
place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have 
I given unto you," said the Lord to Joshua. All those 
precious promises found in Joshua 1:1-9 are based upon 
that condition. The soles of their feet must tread the 
land before they could receive it as a possession. 
. So in the work of the gospel. It is not enough to pray 
for the conversion of sinners; it is not enough to look 
with fear upon the palaces of the rich, or with solicitude 
upon the hovels of the poor. Our feet must cross their 
thresholds. Even the great God takes short steps by our 
side and walks with us as we go into his harvest-field. 
Showers of blessing are promised on the fields we sow and 
cultivate, but we should always remember that these 
blessings upon the good soil must be preceded by the 
footsteps of God 's messengers. 

Advertisements With Boots On 

When "General" Coxie was asked why he led his indus- 
trial army to Washington to present a petition to Congress 
during the financial panic of the early 90 's, he replied: 
"We have sent many petitions on paper to Congress; we 
decided we would present a petition with boots on." 

The secular commerce of the world is based upon the 
law of supply and demand. Merchants carry the goods 
the people call for. Gospel literature has no foothold upon 
that basis. Men are not looking for the gospel; natu- 



Colportage and the Aggressive Principle 157 

rally they turn their backs upon it. Gospel literature 
would turn brown upon the shelves and counters of book- 
sellers if we were dependent upon them for a circulation. 
The aggressive principle is necessary . Every book sold 
must have behind it a man or woman who believes in it, 
and whose life is an example of its teachings. We waste 
our time and money in experimenting with common com- 
mercial methods. We are dependent entirely upon those 
who love the truth for its circulation. The books and 
papers must be carried to the homes of the people, and 
urged upon them; a demand must be created. Money- 
spent on ordinary advertising is waste. Our money and 
our efforts should be spent upon advertisements "with 
boots on." 

"If You Had Only Gone After Him" 

"Some time ago I came across an unusual little story. 
It seemed that, face to face with Vicksburg, the Eleventh 
Indiana was badly cut up, and they sent home for reserves. 
They came, but they did not know anything about fighting. 
They had never been in a battle, and they were to enter a 
hard one at the very first. Among them was a gaunt, tall 
Hoosier who rejoiced in the euphonious name of Peter 
Apples. Now, Peter had never fought. All that he knew 
about soldiering was that a soldier was supposed to do 
as he was told. So when his commander said, 'Forward 
march, double-quick, ' why, Peter double-quicked. There 
was nothing else to do. He was long and lank, and away 
he Avent. The rest kept pace with him for a while, but the 
fire of the enemy was so hot that they began to shiver and 
tremble, and fell back. But Peter was going so fast, like 
another Peter, that he could not stop. He went on, and 
finally ran up the low earthworks of the enemy. A gun- 
ner was ramming home a charge, and Peter brought him a 



158 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

clip on the head and took him by the nape of the neck, 
turned him around and started with him toward camp. 
When he turned away, the enemy did not dare to shoot, 
for fear they would kill their own man. So Peter kept on 
running. When he came panting into camp, the soldiers 
rallied round him, and they said, 'Peter, where did you get 
him?' 'Get him!' said Peter; 'I got him up there! 
There's lots of them up there. Every man of you could 
have one if you had only gone after him. ' 

"As we look out and see the stream of humanity in our 
great cities and elsewhere, men and women being swept 
down in the awful maelstrom, we hear that cry, 'There are 
lots of them there, and you can every one of you have one 
if you will only go after him.' And that was the Master's 
word — ' Go ye.' " — Ernest Lloyd. 

" Two Missing "— " Go Ye " 

"Some years ago I was a guest at a small wedding dinner 
party in New York City. A Scotch-Irish gentleman, well 
known in that city, an old friend, spoke across the table 
to me. He said he had heard recently a story of the Scot- 
tish hills that he wanted to tell. And we all listened as he 
told this simple tale. I have heard it since from other lips, 
variously told. But good gold shines better by the friction 
of use. And I want to tell it to you as my old friend from 
the Scotch end of Ireland told it that evening. 

"It was of a shepherd in the Scottish hills who had 
brought his sheep back to the fold for the night, and as he 
was arranging matters for the night, he was surprised to 
find that two of the sheep were missing. And he knew 
which two. These shepherds are keen to know their sheep. 
He was much surprised, and went to the outhouse of his 
dwelling to call his collie. 

"There she lay, after the day's work, suckling her own 



Colportage and the Aggressive Principle 159 

little ones. He called her. She looked up at him. He 
said, 'Two are missing,' holding up two fingers. 
'Away by, Collie, and get them.' Without moving, she 
looked up into his face, as though she would say, 'You 
wouldn't send me out again to-night? — it's been a long 
day — I'm so tired — not again to-night.' So her eyes 
seemed to say. And again, as many a time, doubtless, 
1 Away by, and get the sheep,' he said. And out she went. 

"About midnight a scratching at the door aroused him. 
He found one of the sheep back. He cared for it. A bit 
of warm food, and the like. Then out again to the out- 
house. There the dog lay with her little ones. Again he 
called her. She looked up. 'Get the other sheep,' he 
said. I do not know if you men listening are as fond of a 
good collie as I am. Their eyes seem human to me, al- 
most, sometimes. And hers seemed so as she looked up, 
and seemed to be saying out of their great depths, ' Not 
again — to-night? — Haven't I been faithful? — I'm so 
tired — not again ! ' 

"And again, as I suppose many a time before, 'Away by, 
and get the sheep.' And out she went. About two or 
three, again the scratching. And he found the last sheep 
back; badly torn; been down some ravine or gully. And 
the dog was plainly played. And yet she seemed to give 
a bit of a wag to her tired tail as though she would say, 
'There it is — *- I've done as you bade me — it's back.' 

"And he cared for its needs, and then before lying down 
again to his own rest, thought he would go and praise the 
dog for her faithful work. You know how sensitive collies 
are to praise or criticism. He went out and stooped over 
her with a pat and a kindly word, and was startled to find 
that the life-tether had slipped its hold. She lay there 
lifeless, with her little ones tugging at her body. 

"That was only a dog. We are men. Shall I apologize 



160 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

for using a dog for an illustration? — No. I will not. One 
of God 's creatures, having a part in his redemption. That 
was to save sheep. You and I are sent, not to save sheep, 
but to save men. And how much then is a man better 
than a sheep, or anything else! 

"And our Master stands here to-day. Would that you 
and I might see his face with the thorn marks of his trip 
to this earth. He points out with his hand. And you 
can't miss a peculiar hole in its palm. He says, 'There 
are two missing — aye, more than two — that you know — 
that you touch — that I died for — go ye.'" — "Quiet 
Talks on Service ," by S. D. Gordon, pages 107-iOQ. 

" Man the Life-Boat Again " 

"Just at the break of day the people of a little hamlet on 
the coast of Scotland were awakened by the boom of a 
cannon over the stormy waves. They knew what it 
meant, for frequently they had heard before the same 
signal of distress. Some poor souls were out beyond the 
breakers, perishing on a wrecked vessel, and in their last 
extremity calling wildly for human help. The people 
hastened from their homes to the shore. Out there in the 
distance was a dismantled vessel, pounding itself to pieces. 
Perishing fellow beings were clinging to the rigging, and 
every now and then some one of them was swept off into 
the sea by the furious waves. 

'"Man the life-boat!' cried the men. 

'"Where is Hardy?' 

"But the foreman of the crew was not there, and the 
danger was imminent. Aid must be immediate, or all 
would be lost. The next in command sprang into the 
frail boat, followed by the rest, all taking their lives in 
their hands in the hope of saving others. O, how those on 
the shore watched their brave* loved ones as they dashed 



Colportage and the Aggressive Principle 161 

on, now over, now almost under the waves! They reached 
the wreck. Like angels of deliverance they filled their 
craft with almost dying men, — men lost but for them. 
Back again they toiled, pulling for the shore, bearing their 
precious freight. 

"The first man to help them land was Hardy, whose words 
rang above the roar of the breakers, 'Are you all here? 
Did you save them all?' 

"With saddened faces the reply came: 'All but one. 
He couldn't help himself at all. We had all we could 
carry. We couldn't save the last one.' 

11 'Man the life-boat again! ' shouted Hardy. ' I will go- 
What! leave one there to die alone? A fellow creature 
there, and we on shore? Man the life-boat now! we'll 
save him yet.' 

"But who is this aged woman with worn garments and 
disheveled hair, with agonized entreaty falling upon her 
knees beside this brave, strong man? It was his mother. 

"'0 my son! your father was drowned in a storm like 
this. Your brother Will left me eight years ago, and I 
have never seen his face since the day he Sailed. No 
doubt he, too, has found a watery grave. And now you 
will be lost, and I am old and poor. O, stay with me!' 

" ' Mother,' cried the man, 'where one is in peril, there's 
my place. If I am lost, God will surely care for you.' 

"The plea of earnest faith prevailed. With a 'God 
bless you, my boy!' she released him, and speeded him on 
his way. 

"Once more they watched and prayed and waited — 
those on the shore — while every muscle was strained 
toward the fast-sinking ship by those in the life-saving 
boat. At last it reached the vessel. The clinging figure 
was lifted and helped to its place, where strong hands took 
it in charge. Back came the boat. How eagerly they 



1 62 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

looked and called in encouragement, and cheered as it 



came nearer. 

n 1 



Did you get him?' was the cry from the shore. 
"Lifting his hands to his mouth to trumpet the words on 
in advance of their landing, Hardy called back above the 
roar of the storm: 'Tell mother it is brother Will!'" 
— "The Saloon-Keeper's Ledger/ 1 by L. A. Banks. 

A Long Time Coming 

"There is an old story that caught fire in my heart the 
first time it came to me, and burns anew at each memory 
of it. It told of a time in the southern part of our country 
when the sanitary regulations were not so good as of late. 
A city was being scourged by a disease that seemed quite 
beyond control. The city's carts were ever rolling over 
the cobblestones, helping carry away those whom the 
plague had slain. 

"Into one very poor home, a laboring man's home, the 
plague had come. And the father and children had been 
carried out, until on the day of this story there remained 
but two, the mother and her baby boy of perhaps five 
years. The boy crept up into his mother's lap, put his 
arms about her neck, and with his baby eyes so close, said, 
'Mother, father's dead, and brothers and sister are dead; 
if you die, what '11 I do?' 

"The poor mother had thought of it, of course; what 
could she say? Quieting her voice as much as possible, 
she said, 'If I die, Jesus will come for you.' That was 
quite satisfactory to the boy. He had been taught about 
Jesus, and felt quite safe with him, and so went about his 
play on the floor. And the boy 's question proved only too 
prophetic. Quick work was done by the dread disease. 
And soon the mother was being laid away by strange hands. 

"It is not difficult to understand that in the sore dis- 



Colportage and the Aggressive Principle 163 

tress of the time the boy was forgotten. When night came, 
he crept into bed, but could not sleep. Late in the night 
he got up, found his way out along the street, down the 
road, to where he had seen the men put her, and throw- 
ing himself down on the freshly shoveled earth, sobbed and 
sobbed until nature kindly stole consciousness away for a 
time. 

"Very early the next morning a gentleman, coming down 
the road from some errand of mercy, looked over the fence, 
and saw the little fellow lying there. Quickly suspecting 
some sad story, he called him: 'My boy, what are you 
doing there? My boy, wake up! what are you doing there 
all alone?' The boy "awoke, rubbed his baby eyes, and 
said, 'Father's dead, and brothers and sister are dead, and 
now — mother's — dead — too. And she said, if she did 
die, Jesus would come for me. And he hasn 't come. And 
I 'm so tired waiting.' And the man swallowed something 
in his throat, and in a voice not very clear, said, 'Well, my 
boy, I've come for you.' And the little fellow, with his 
baby eyes so big, said, 'I think you've been a long time 
coming.' 

"Whenever I read these last words of Jesus or think of 
them, there comes up a vision that floods out every other 
thing. It is of Jesus himself standing on that hilltop. 
His face is all scarred and marred, thorn-torn and thong- 
cut. But it is beautiful, passing all beauty of earth, with 
its wondrous beauty light. Those great eyes are looking out 
so yearningly, out as though they were seeing men, the ones 
nearest 'and those farthest. His arm is outstretched with 
the hand pointing out. And you can not miss the rough, 
jagged hole in the palm. And he is saying, 'Go ye.' The 
attitude, the scars, the eyes looking, the hand pointing, 
the voice speaking, all are saying so intently, 'Go ye. 1 

"And as I follow the line of those eyes, and the hand, 



164 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

there comes up an answering vision. A great sea of faces 
that no man ever yet has numbered, with answering eyes 
and outstretching hands. From hoary old China, from our 
blood-brothers in India, from Africa where sin's tar stick 
seems to have blackened blackest, from Romanized South 
America, and the islands, aye from the slums, and frontiers, 
and mountains in the home land, and from those near by, 
from over the alley next to your house maybe, they seem 
to come. And they are rubbing their eyes, and speaking. 
With lives so pitifully barren, with lips mutely eloquent, 
with the soreness of their hunger, they are saying, 'You're 
a long time coming.' " — "Quiet Talks on Service" by S. D. 
Gordon, pages 50-53. 

Buffet the Surf and Breast the Waves 

"It is not enough that a banquet is provided, and the 
guests invited; our Saviour has taught us- to go into the 
highways and hedges, and 'compel them to come in.' 

11 It is not enough, on a coast lined with the decoy lights 
of pleasure or obscured by the fogs of error, that a light- 
house is erected to guide the tempest-tossed to a haven; 
the life-boat must buffet the surf and breast the waves, to 
pick up the victims of the storm. It is not enough to 
plant a fort on the borders of the enemies' country, dan- 
gerous only to those who assail it or come within the range 
of its guns; but it is also required that the church militant 
should be in the field, extending its conquests to every ham- 
let and every heart. 

"That the aggressive principle ought to be more largely 
infused into our schemes of evangelization is obvious. 
The example of the Saviour in his itinerant labors; of Paul 
preaching the gospel ' in the regions beyond ; ' of the primi- 
tive disciples 'holding forth the Word of Life,' and going 
'everywhere preaching the word,' and of a few holy men 



Colportage and the Aggressive Principle 165 

in all ages who have caught their spirit, — all encourage to 
it. The promises of success to those who 'go forth weep- 
ing, bearing precious seed,' and of reward to those who 
'turn many to righteousness,' invite to it. The fact that 
religion is a personal concern, that men are converted 
singly and not in groups, and that one soul led from the 
Ways of sin to holiness is of more account than worlds, 
impels individual Christians to the work of saving in- 
dividual souls. 

"Souls are too precious, life too short, and eternity too 
near to admit longer delay or neglect. Millions even at 
home, and countless millions abroad, will miserably perish 
unless more prompt, energetic, and aggressive means are 
employed to impart the gospel to the individuals and 
families comprising the masses of men."— r" Colportage" 
by Fison, pages 1-8. 

"It is not perhaps sufficiently remembered that the 
process by which men in general are to be brought to 
practical acceptance of Christianity is necessarily aggres- 
sive. There is no attractiveness, at first, to them in the 
proceedings which take place within a common church or 
chapel: all is either unintelligible or disagreeable. . . . 
Something more must be done. The people who refuse 
to hear the gospel in the church must have it brought to 
, their own haunts. If ministers, by standing every Sunday 
I in the desk or pulpit, fail to attract the multitudes around, 
: they must by some means make their invitations heard 
1 beyond the church or chapel walls." — Horace Mann. 
The colporteur work originated in this aggressive prin- 
ciple, and it bears the test of time and experience as an 
j agency of the gospel. It supplies the personal touch neces- 
. sary to win souls. It presents to the people the godly life 
1 and conversation of the worker, which is often read with 
j greater profit, even, than the printed page he carries. It 



1 66 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

searches out the people where they are, and places in their 
hands the Word of Life. 

The Eloquent Book-Preacher 

"Who else but -the colporteur will travel five, ten, even 
twenty miles to visit a few persons or a single family, to 
speak to them the way of life, to pray with them and for 
them the first prayer ever offered in their dwellings, and 
then to leave some little, silent, yet eloquent book-preacher 
to repeat the sweet story of Jesus to parents and children 
in the quiet solitude of their unprivileged homes? Is it not 
a wonderful and happy adaptation to our great and needy 
fields? We bless God for the man, living or dead, who 
originated the thought of such a plan." — Report of Ameri- 
can Tract Society. 

One or two* illustrations will be sufficient to show the 
character and success of our colporteur work as an agency 
for publishing the third angel's message. 

The Colored Colporteur of South Australia 

Far up in the wheat lands north of Adelaide, a farmer's 
wife became deeply troubled over the prophecies of the 
books of Daniel and the Revelation. Believing that they 
held secrets that she ought to know, she prayed earnestly 
that God would send her light. One night she dreamed 
that a colored colporteur, riding a bicycle, came up to the 
ranch, and offered for sale a book that explained the 
prophecies of the Bible. 

The following day she told her dream to her daughter, 
who was inclined to make merry over the matter. But the 
mother was deeply impressed by her dream, and believed 
that by some means God would send her the light. 

A few days later a colored man was seen coming up the . 
drive on a bicycle. "There, mother," said the daughter, 
"there is your colored man. He must be the one you saw 



Colportage and the Aggressive Principle 167 

in your dream." "No," said the mother, "he is not the 
man." He inquired concerning a neighboring ranch, and 
went on his way. 

Again, a second colored man came to the door, and the 
daughter said, "Mother, this must be the man you saw in 
your dream;" but he was not. He was an East India 
merchant, who offered his wares for sale, and went on his 
way. 

Then the third colored man came on his bicycle. The 
daughter said, "Mother, this is the third one; he must be 
the man of your dream." The mother looked, and almost 
startled, she said: "Yes, daughter, he is the man." 

Instant in Season 
It was Brother Appollon, our colporteur for that section. 
He showed his book, but there was nothing which indicated 
it would furnish an explanation of those wonderful proph- 
ecies. As he was about to leave, the woman called him 
back, and told him of her dream, and of her desire for 
a knowledge of the prophecies. Recognizing, with the 
keen instinct of one who is watching for souls, that this 
was an opportunity to teach the truth, he took out his 
Bible, and turning to the second chapter of Daniel, began 
to explain the prophecy concerning the great image. 
l"Stop," said the woman, "I have many neighbors who 
are interested in this question. Come back and stop with 
us to-night, and we will call in our friends, and you shall 
give us a Bible reading." 

A Church Established 

Returning that evening, he found a company of people 
gathered to hear him. They kept him up until midnight, 
asking questions on those wonderful prophecies. They 
urged that he come again, and he consented. For two 
weeks he sold literature in that community, returning 



1 68 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

each night to conduct a Bible reading. In two weeks he 
wrote to the president of the conference, saying: — 

"I have found some people in this community who are [ 
interested in the prophecies. Fourteen have already 
begun the observance of the Sabbath. You must come 
down and give them further instruction. The interest is 
greater than I can handle." 

The president, immediately responding, visited the 
community, and in two weeks organized a church of 
thirty-one members. 

The Lady Colporteur of Memphis 
The following story of the work of Sister Mamie Moore, 
is taken from the report of her work presented at the meet- 
ing of the Southern Union Conference, held in Nashville, 
Tenn., January, 1912. For four and one-half years Sister 
Moore had been working as a colporteur for "Thoughts on 
Daniel and the Revelation" among the most wealthy and 
influential people of the city of Memphis, Tenn., and had 
become generally known by the people of that city as 
"the lady colporteur of Memphis." The wonderful and 
yet simple story of God 's providences over her work in the 
great city of Memphis, and the brief sketch that she gave 
of her personal struggles and experiences, will never be 
forgotten by those who enjoyed the privilege of hearing it. 
Sister Moore was then twenty-seven years of age, and 
had been employed by the conference as a colporteur for 
nine years. 

The Chairman's Introduction 

Brother A. F. Harrison, general missionary agent of 

the Southern Union Conference, introducing her, said : — 

"Sister Moore needs little introduction. She is well 

known to you all. She is one of the fourteen colporteurs 

who have been brought to this meeting at the expense of 






Colportage and the Aggressive Principle 169 



our publishing house and our union conference, for during 
the past year she has sold and delivered books to the 
value of one thousand and three dollars. During the previ- 
ous year also her sales amounted to one thousand and 
twelve dollars; and once before, she delivered one thousand 
one hundred dollars' worth of books in nine months. I re- 
member when Sister Moore first began. She was an un- 
educated girl, still wearing short dresses, and I had serious 
doubts of her ever becoming a colporteur. But she has 
been faithful all these years. While other girls were 
going to school, or following their own course, she worked 
on, and the Lord has given her a rich reward for her labors. 
For four and one-half years she has been selling ' Thoughts 
on Daniel and the Revelation' in the city of Memphis. 
For three and one-half years, since her father died, she 
has been the head of the family, having supported very 
largely her mother and ten younger brothers and sisters. 
But I must not tell her story for her. You would rather 
hear her speak for herself." 

Sister Moore, who has never had many advantages, 
having been brought up in poverty on a farm, and having 
never passed beyond the fifth or sixth grade in school, is a 
: good example of what consecration, courage, and industry 
can accomplish in one's education, culture, and success. 
She is a woman of rather more than ordinary address and 
bearing. 

" I Was Not Satisfied " 

In narrating her experiences she spoke slowly and 
•clearly, using good language, and showing little nerv- 
ousness, and no appearance whatever of sentiment ( 
affectation, or artificial feeling. She said: — 

"Brother Harrison said he could remember when I 
\wore short dresses, and when he feared I would not succeed 



170 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

as a colporteur. A friend told me at that time she thought 
I was the worst subject for a colporteur she had ever seen. 
But I was not satisfied with plowing the corn and cotton 
and chopping wood. I was my father's oldest 'boy. 
While working in the fields, with no prospect before me, I 
often asked myself the question, ' Is there nothing different 
for me than this? Must I always do this kind of work 
when I know this precious truth, and thousands are dying 
all about us with no knowledge of it?' Notwithstanding 
the things that were against me, I resolved that I would 
do my best to accomplish something. 

The First Effort 

"I secured a few copies of 'Best Stories,' paper binding, 
which sells for twenty-five cents. The first day I sold 
nothing; yet I was not discouraged, but came home happy; 
for I had not expected to sell anything the first time I tried. 
The second day I sold the three books I had taken with me, 
receiving the money; and with it in my hand I ran home, 
and bounding into the house, shouted, 'I have sold them! 
I have sold them ! every one of them ; and have come for 
more!' I took three with me, and sold them before 
night. That was the beginning. 

"Later I sent for books in a better binding, which sold 
for fifty cents, and succeeded with them. Then I took 
'Coming King,' and next 'Bible Readings,' and last of all 
I learned to sell ' Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation. ' 

The Lord's Call to Memphis 
"Four and one-half years ago, when the testimony came 
from Sister White that work should be done in the great 
cities, I did not see how I could excuse myself from re- 
sponsibility; for I was one of the workers, and could per- 
haps take the books to many homes that would never 
receive the truth from the tent-meetings. As the city of 



Colportage and the Aggressive Principle 171 

Memphis was definitely mentioned in the testimony, I 
decided to go there, and have been working there ever 
since. The Lord has greatly blessed me in my work; and 
some have accepted the truth through reading the books I 
have sold, and are now members of the Memphis church. 

One Copy of the " Watchman " 

"I have been asked to tell some of the results of this 

work in Memphis. I have been working among the most 

] wealthy classes, and it is wonderful how, in response to 

prayer, the Lord has opened the homes and hearts of the 

people to me. As an encouragement to those who are 

selling the Watchman, I wish to begin by telling what one 

j copy of the Watchman did. One copy of that paper 

: opened the way for me to get the truth into a home I 

could not otherwise have entered. 

"A traveling man of Memphis, while in Arkansas, was 

persuaded by a lady customer of his to take a copy of the 

! Watchman and read it ; she said that it told of the signs of 

the Lord's coming, and that many of these things were 

! already fulfilled. Out of curiosity, he took it, read it, 

and became interested. He wrote to the publishers, asking 

t?hem to supply him with the first six numbers of the year, 

} and to tell him the subscription price. The publishers 

" sent him the desired information, and then wrote to me to 

' visit him and follow up the interest. I found him in his 

. office, and easily sold him a copy of 'Thoughts on Danjel 

j and the Revelation,' half morocco, to be delivered the next 

day. 

"On calling at his home to deliver the book, as he had 
arranged to leave the money there, I found it to be a place 
where I had been before. His wife was very angry be- 
cause her husband had bought the book. She said it was a 
foolish book, and should not have a place in her library 



1^2 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

with her standard works. I told her she would not call it a 
foolish book after reading it, and urged that she study it 
carefully, for there was a message in it for her. Before I 
left, she became more friendly, and gave me the names of 
several of her friends who she thought would buy the book. 
This was all brought about by one copy of the Watchman. 

" You Must Be a Seventh-Day Adventist if You 
Keep Saturday " 

"A daughter of a Memphis physician purchased from 
me a copy of 'Daniel and the Revelation.' She was very 
glad to get it, and in a few days began to keep the Sabbath. 
In her joy over the new-found light, she talked it to her 
neighbors, and they said to her, ' You must be a Seventh- 
day Adventist if you keep Saturday.' She inquired who 
they were, for she knew nothing of any such people. They 
told her of Elder J. S. Washburn and his work in Memphis, 
and she rejoiced that her prayer had been answered; for 
she had been praying the Lord to send some one of like 
faith to be with her, not knowing there were any such 
people in the city. She went to the telephone and called 
Elder Washburn, weeping aloud for joy that she had 
found a people keeping the commandments. She re» 
quested him to send her more literature. He sent her a 
Bible worker, and she gladly received all the light that 
came to her, and could hardly wait until she could be 
baptized. She bought six copies of ' Daniel and the Reve- 
lation ' to lend to her neighbors to read. 

One Woman Buys Fifteen Copies 

"Another woman in Memphis, a sister of a lawyer, has 
purchased from me fifteen copies of the same book, 
' Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation,' and has given 
them away to friends. Whenever she gets any one in- 



Colportage and the Aggressive Principle 173 

terested in studying the Bible, she sends over for a copy of 
the book to give them. She bought one in the full-morocco 
binding for a Christmas present for her brother. She 
now has another of her brothers taking Bible readings. 

"A real-estate man's wife bought ' Daniel and the Reve- 
lation,' and soon both she and her husband were keeping 
the Sabbath. 

"The Lord Watches Over Each Book " 
"Another woman to whom I sold a copy of the same 
book, did not become interested in it, but she lent it to a 
neighbor, who, after reading it, soon decided to keep the 
Sabbath. They are people of high standing in society. 
This illustrates how the Lord watches over each book, 
and when one falls into the hands of some one who does not 
appreciate it, he sees that it finds its way to some one else. 

Result From a Stormy Day's Work 

"Some interesting things have been said in this con- 
vention about working on stormy days. I had one ex- 
perience that illustrates this point. One disagreeable, 
stormy day, I sold a copy of ' Daniel and the Revelation ' 
to a family for cash. I found the mother had been reading 
the Millennial Dawn books, and was much interested in 
the coming of the Lord. About two weeks after this, I 
saw her on the Sabbath in the congregation. She had 
already begun to keep the Sabbath, and was rejoicing in 
the light; and now she is one of our strongest and most 
active members. 

" But this is not all that one book did. One of her sons, 
who was not at all religious, became a diligent Bible worker. 
He loves this truth above everything else, and rejoices that 
that book ever came to their home. His sister took her 
stand for the truth before he did, and is a very active mem- 
ber. Her husband is almost persuaded. The family have 



174 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

lent their books and tracts to their relatives and friends, 
some of whom are interested, and have attended our 
meetings. A sister of this woman, who was a Christian 
Scientist, is now rejoicing in the truth, and another sister 
is also a member of the church. One of her sons, a doctor, 
and his wife are deacon and deaconess of our Memphis 
church. Her husband would be in the truth only for his 
tobacco. Two other sons are believers, and are almost 
ready to yield, it seems. I feel rejoiced, indeed, over the 
fruit of that day's work. 

Other Sowing and Its Fruit 

11 A faithful colored woman in Kentucky is in the truth 
as the result of a copy of ' Bible Readings ' I sold her. I 
have never seen her since selling her the book, but I hear 
of her. 

"The only relative I have outside of our own family 
who is in the truth, came in as the result of reading books 
and tracts given her. 

"One of our deacons in the Memphis church heard the 
debate there. He had a copy of ' Bible Readings ' that I 
had sold him. So he went home, got it out, and began 
studying it, and he and his wife soon took their stand for 
the truth. 

" A number of others, also, in Memphis to whom I have 
sold books are attending Bible readings, and are deeply 
interested. It rejoices my heart as I attend the Memphis 
church and look over the congregation, to see here and 
there those who have accepted the truth through reading 
the books sold. Many of them are active workers and the 
most influential members of the church. I enjoy my work 
very much, and ask your prayers that I may always be 
faithful in it. I trust my work shall never be taken from 
me." 



Colportage and the Aggressive Principle 175 

A Trumpet-Call to Service 

Dear reader, what message does this story bring to you? 
Do you hear the Master saying, - ' Go work to-day in my vine- 
yard"? Listen again to those words, "I was not satisfied 
with plowing the corn and cotton and chopping wood. I 
was my father's oldest 'boy.' While working in the 
fields, with no prospect before me, I often asked myself 
the question, ' Is there nothing different for me than this? 
Must I always do this kind of work when I know this pre- 
cious truth, and thousands are dying all about us with no 
knowledge of it?' . . . I resolved that I would do my 
best to accomplish something." 

To our young people this story should be a trumpet-call 
to service. 

The Colporteur 

Among the workers in God's vineyard wide, 
That tell the tidings that the gospel saith, 
Not least important, though less known than most, 
The colporteur goes forth in simple faith. 

Midst mighty cities' busy, bustling din, 
He hurries on to wage his war with sin; 
And in the humble hamlets of the West, 
To many a home he bears the message blest. 

Now, where the wintry sun doth disappear 
For full three months of every passing year, 
In ice-bound lands he joyful wends his way, 
To sell his books that tell of endless day. 

In far Australia, newest land of earth, 

He goes to tell them of another birth 

This world shall know when God shall cause to cease 

The curse of sin, and rule in sinless peace. 

In Eastern lands, where pagan temples rise, 
And shrill muezzins startle morning skies, 
He bears, to those who sit in error's night, 
Truth's beacon pointing to the Source of light. 



176 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

Where the " White Czar," intolerant, claims the throne, 
And calls the people's very souls his own; 
Unterrified by bigot priest, there still 
He bears the message of God 's holy will. 

By ancient castles on the far-famed Rhine, 
Along the vales of Alps and Apenine, 
E'en where the "beast" is throned by Tiber's flow, 
I see him trend, and angels with him go. 

Where the proud Briton in his "castle" dwells, 
In town and village joyfully he tells 
Of that great day when earthly kingdoms fall, 
And Christ shall rule eternal over all. 

Where Western genius marks its wondrous power, 
And cities rise as moments in the hour, 
And through the Spanish main that Southern ire' 
Has cursed with revolutions, sword, and fire, 

On goes the colporteur, nor slacks his zeal, 
Through hard times or prosperity, through woe or weal; 
Placing, in countless homes, books full of grace, 
That point earth 's weary to a resting-place. 

Speed on thy holy work. Let no despair 
Press down thy spirit; God for thee doth care. 
By every water sow thy seed, and he 
Who increase gives, shall bless thee mightily. 

— Selected. 



Colportage and Personal 
Service 









'Life holds no privilege more precious 
than to give itself in service for the lost." 



VI 

Colportage and Personal Service 1 

'Tis not for man to trifle. Life is brief, 

And sin is here. 
Our age is but the falling of a leaf, 

A dropping tear. 
We have no time to sport away the hours; 
All must be earnest in a world like ours. 

Not many lives, but only one have we, — 

One, only one; 
How sacred should that one life ever be, 

That narrow span! 
Day after day filled up with blessed toil, 
Hour after hour still bringing in new spoil. 

'T'HE strength of the colporteur work lies in the oppor- 
A tunity it gives for personal service. The personal touch 
is necessary to success in winning souls. To no other class 
of workers is there given such precious and constant oppor- 
tunities for "wayside ministry " as to the colporteur, who 
visits every home, and communicates directly and per- 
sonally with all classes of people. 

The Gift of Giving 

Personal service, or the gift of giving, is the active 
working principle of the gospel. It is God 's method or 
plan for saving men. "God so loved the world, that he 
gave his only begotten Son." Jesus, in turn, so loved us 
that he gave himself for us. He was born into this world ; 
he lived our life; he grew up among men; and in due time 



1 The stories in chapters V and VI, by S. D. Gordon, are 
taken from his beautiful little book "Quiet Talks on Service," 
for sale by the Review and Herald Publishing Association, 
Takoma Park, Washington, D. C. Cloth, 210 pages, 75 cents. 

179 



180 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

he was set apart by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, to 
the work of the ministry of reconciliation. By precept and 
example, as he "went about doing good," he taught his 
disciples to continue his work of ministry for men. This 
responsibility he laid definitely upon them in his parting 
command, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel 
to every creature." 

Service and Life 

All who accept the gospel take upon themselves the 
obligation to pass the good tidings on to others. In this 
way the work of salvation is extended. Every soul re- 
claimed from the pit of sin, joins in the same work for 
others which lifted him up, and placed his feet upon the 
Rock. 

We can not escape this responsibility. The service of 
God is the Christian's life. The redeemed do not enter 
heaven selfishly and alone. They come in by twos and 
threes and in companies. Says Whittier, "The soul is 
lost that 's saved alone." But when the gift of God 's love 
is received into the heart, and we find salvation from 
this sinful life of selfishness, then we, in turn, place our all 
upon the altar to be used by the Spirit in God's service. 
And so the gift of grace is passed on from heart to heart, 
and the straying children of God, who are wandering and 
lost in the dark places of the earth, are brought back to the 
Father's house, from which Jesus was sent forth for their 
salvation. "Thus through Christ the circuit of benefi- 
cence is complete." 

Blessed by the Rebound of Service 

The good things of God are not for our individual use 
alone. God has so arranged the economy of his gifts that 
we have only by giving. Our richest blessings come to us as 



Colportage and Personal Service 181 

the rebound of reflex action of the good things we pass on 
to our fellow men. What we reserve for ourselves, we lose; 
what we give for others, returns in many fold to enrich the 
giver. "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the 
Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again." 
What a paradox! To have by giving! "There is that 
scattereth, and yet increaseth; there is that withholdest 
more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty." The 
world increases its riches by withholding; the church in- 
creases its riches by giving. 

Withholding is a manifestation of the selfishness that 
kills. Liberality is a manifestation of the law of life. "I 
will bless thee, . . . and thou shalt be a blessing," 
said the Lord to Abraham. And the apostle writes, 
" Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who 
comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to 
comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort 
wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." 2 Cor. 1 : 
3, 4. Thus the purpose of God appears in bestowing his 
gifts upon us. He makes us stewards of his gifts, that we 
may pass them on to others. 

The Anointing for Service 

The gift of the Spirit, the Comforter, that most precious 
legacy which our Lord bequeathed to his church, is given 
to qualify men for service. The Spirit is not given sim- 
ply to increase our individual joy or strength, nor to lift 
us up and make us great. When we offer ourselves to 
God for service, and are willing to be used as the Lord may 
direct, the Spirit is sent as an anointing to fit us for the 
work. 

Men sometimes pray and agonize for the gifts of the 
Spirit, while neglecting the very service that would bring 



1 82 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

from God the needed anointing. "If one half the time we 
spend in praying for the Spirit," says Pierson, "were spent 
in fulfilling the conditions upon which it is promised, we 
should have a great deal more of it." 

Even though Jesus lived the perfect life from his child- 
hood, yet the anointing by the Holy Spirit did not come 
until he was thirty years of age, when he entered upon 
his public ministry. The Spirit was poured out upon him 
at the time of his baptism, to prepare him for his great 
work. In the prophecy concerning himself, he said, "The 
Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath 
anointed me to preach." Isa. 61: I. 

The Service of Nature 

Nor is this principle of service limited to spiritual things; 
for this law of life is illustrated in everything we see about 
us in the natural world. The sun is chief of servants in 
nature; it sheds its beams of light and warmth upon the 
earth, and all things, animate and inanimate, respond to 
the life-giving service. By its power the mists are caught 
up from the seas, the winds carry them over the conti- 
nents, and they fall in refreshing showers to minister to the 
thirsty earth. The winds cool the air, run motors, and 
waft the mighty ships. The moon is a great giver. It 
receives its light from the' sun, and passes it on to brighten 
the dark nights of this world. 

The members of our body serve one another. The feet 
carry us to where our hands may grasp, and our eyes keep 
both hands and feet from danger; the ear warns of dan- 
ger, and brings the sound of voice and music to brighten 
our lives. No member can say to another, "I have no 
need of thee;" all the members are dependent, and each 
should perform its share of ministry. 

Our domestic creatures, also, are dependent upon us 



Colportage and Personal Service 183 

for care, and they in turn furnish both food and clothing 
for man. 

The Bond of Mutual Dependence 

There is a closer relationship than simply the beauty and 
fragrance of the flowers between the housewife and the 
plants she tends with so much interest and solicitude. 
Each is dependent upon the other, to a certain degree, and 
each receives from the other the elements of life. We 
inhale oxygen and throw off carbon; the plants inhale 
carbon and throw off oxygen. Thus the members of the 
family minister life to the plants, and the plants, in turn, 
minister to those who tend them. 

The Bumblebee and the Clover 

The bumblebee is dependent upon the clover for its food, 
and the clover is dependent upon the bumblebee for its 
propagation. Until recent years, clover would not grow 
in New Zealand, although the soil is very fertile. Finally, 
it was discovered that the clover died because there were 
no bumblebees. The government imported a consign- 
ment of bumblebees. The clover was planted and grew, 
and the bumblebees were set at liberty. New Zealand is 
now a land of clover. The bees and the clover are both 
thriving, each dependent upon, and faithfully serving, the 
other. 

The Two Seas 

The same principle is illustrated by the difference be- 
tween the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. Why is one a 
loathsome sea of death and the other a living sheet of 
sparkling waters? Both receive their supply from the 
same source. Yet the gift to one means life and blessing, 
and to the other death. The difficulty with the Dead Sea 
is that it has no outlet. It receives, but does not give. 



184 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

The Sea of Galilee receives the pure waters of the Jordan, 
is blessed by the living current, and passes it on down the 
valley. That is its life. Fish live in its waters, and life 
and beauty smile along its shores. But the same waters 
become putrid in the self-centered basin of the Dead Sea, 
and its shores are marked with death and desolation. 
The Siphon 

Examine a siphon that is not in service. It is entirely 
useless; it is filled with air, which fitly represents "the 
prince and power of the air," or Satan, who dwells in 
every sinful heart. This power must be removed before 
the siphon can be used. There is only one way to get rid 
of the intruder. Try pulling, pushing, or blowing; they 
are of no use; the air remains. The siphon must be dipped 
in the fountain and filled. As the water flows in, the air is 
expelled. 

But even this does not make a living siphon. If left 
inactive, the water would soon become stagnant. But 
place your fingers over the two ends of the siphon; plunge 
one end into the fountain, remove the fingers from both 
ends, and note the result. Immediately it becomes a 
living siphon, and begins its important service. 

Now make an incision, ever so slight, in the siphon, 
at its highest point. Immediately the air rushes in, the 
water ceases to flow, and the siphon is again useless. 

Again, lift the siphon so as to separate it from the foun- 
tain. The stream immediately ceases to flow, and the air 
rushes in. The usefulness of the siphon, therefore, depends 
upon its connection with the fountain, the removal of all 
obstructions, the exclusion of the air, and constant activity. 

And is there less of the living current in the siphon be- 
cause of the supply it passes on? — No; every drop that 
flows from the delivery end of the siphon creates an irre- 
sistible demand upon the fountain for a fresh infilling. 



Colportage and Personal Service 185 

This law of the siphon is also the law of Christian living. 
The blessings of yesterday may have been abundant, but 
they are insufficient for to-day, and the manna of to-day is 
spoiled for the morrow. Our lives are enriched by the 
blessings of God, if we pass them on to others. If we 
retain them for ourselves alone, the supply ceases, and 
what would otherwise be life and blessing, becomes our 
death and condemnation. 

Pass It On 

"Have you had a kindness shown? 

Pass it on; 
'Twas not given for you alone, 

Pass it on: 
Let it travel down the years, 
Let it wipe another's tears, 
Till in heaven the gift appears — 
Pass it on." 

"Have you found the heavenly light? 

Pass it on; 
Souls are groping in the night, 

Daylight gone: 
Hold thy lighted lamp on high, 
Be a star- in some one's sky; 
He may live who else would die — 

Pass it on." 

Lending to the Lord 

That beautiful scripture which says, "He that hath pity 
upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord," is strikingly illus- 
trated by a dream, related in a misssionary meeting by one 
of the members of the society. 

He dreamed that he was caught up to heaven, where an 
angel was directed to show him the mansions that Christ 
had gone to prepare for his children. He was bewildered 
and overjoyed by the beauty of the place. Finally they 
came to a mansion more beautiful than all the rest, and 



1 86 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

he asked the angel who was to have this beautiful reward. 

The angel replied, "This is for the widow , from your 

neighborhood." He remembered the. poor widow who 
lived in the little cottage at the foot of the hill, and said to 
himself, " If such a mansion as this is prepared for the poor 
widow, who has never occupied much of a place in the 
community, I wonder what the home will be which has 
been prepared for me." 

Finally they came to a little cottage, beautiful like all 
the rest of the heavenly mansions, but very small. "And 
who is this for ? " he asked. The angel turned, and looking 
full upon him, said, "This is prepared for you." "But 
why is such a little place prepared for me," he asked, 
" while the widow has such a mansion? " " It is like this," 
replied the angel, "we did the very best we could with the 
little you sent us. During all her life the widow gave of 
the little that she had to the cause of Christ; it multiplied 
and increased rapidly, and from her investment the man- 
sion has been prepared; but you have stored your riches 
and spent them on the earth. We did the best we could 
with what you sent ahead." He awoke, and thanked God 
that his days of opportunity had not passed. 

A Living Sacrifice 

"There is a simple story told that contains its truth in 
its very naturalness and simplicity. It reveals a bit of the 
real life ever going on all around us unnoticed. A minister 
in a certain small town in an Eastern State received from 
the home mission board of his church a letter asking for a 
special offering for a needy field in the West. With the 
letter was literature setting forth the need. The call 
appealed to him, and with good heart he prepared a special 
sermon, calling the attention of his people to the great need. 

"Sabbath morning came, and he preached the sermon. 



Colportage and Personal Service 187 

But somehow it did not just seem to hook in. The banker 
down there on the left looked listless, and yawned twice 
behind his hand. And the merchant over on the right, 
who could give freely, examined his watch secretly more 
than once. And so it was with a little tinge of discourage- 
ment insistently creeping into his spirit that he finished, 
and sat down. And he remained with head bowed in 
prayer that the results might prove better than seemed 
likely, while the church officers passed down the aisles 
with the collection plates. 

"Meanwhile something unseen by human eye was going 
on in the very last pew. Back there, sitting alone, was a 
little girl of a poor family. She had met with a mis- 
fortune that left her crippled; and her whole life seemed 
dark and hopeless. But some kind friends in the church, 
pitying her condition, had made up a small fund and 
bought her a pair of crutches. And these had seemed to 
transform her completely. She went about her rounds 
always as cheery and bright as a bit of sunshine. 

"She had listened to the sermon, and her heart had been 
strangely warmed by the preacher's story of need. And 
as he was finishing, she was thinking, ' How I wish I might 
give something! But I haven't anything to give, not 
even a copper left. ' And a voice within seemed to 
say very softly, but very distinctly, 'There are your 
crutches.' ' O !' she gasped to herself as if it took away her 
very breath, 'my crutches? I couldn't give my crutches; 
they're my life.' And that strangely clear voice went on, 
so quietly, ' Yes, you could; and then some one would know 
of Jesus, if you did, and that would mean so much to 
them. He 's meant so much to you — give your crutches.' 
And her breath seemed to fail her at the thought. And so 
the little woman had her fight all unseen and unknown by 
those in the church. By and by the victory came, 



1 88 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

and she sat with a beautiful light in her tearful eyes, and a 
smile coming to her lips, waiting for the plate to get to her 
pew. 

"And the man with the plate came down the aisle to the 
end. It seemed hardly worth while reaching it into the 
last pew, just little Maggie sitting there alone, with her 
one foot dangling above the floor. But with fine courtesy, 
he stopped and passed the plate in. And Maggie, in her 
childlike simplicity, lifted her crutches, and tried rather 
awkwardly to put them on the collection plate. Quick as a 
flash, the man caught her thought, and with a queer lump 
in his throat, reached out and steadied her strange gift on 
the plate. 

"And then he turned back and walked slowly up the 
aisle toward the pulpit, carrying the plate in one hand and 
steadying the crutches on it with the other. People began 
to look and eyes quickly dimmed. Everybody knew the 
crutches. Maggie — giving her crutches! And the banker 
over there blew his nose suddenly and reached for his pencil, 
and the merchant reached out to stop the man returning 
up his aisle. 

"As the pastor stood with his eyesight not very clear to 
receive the morning's offering, he said, 'Surely our little 
crippled friend is giving us a wonderful example.' Then 
the plates were called back toward the pews. And some- 
body paid fifty dollars for the crutches, and sent them 
back to that end pew. When the offering was counted up, 
it contained several hundred dollars. And the little girl, 
crippled in body but not in any other way, hobbled out of 
church the happiest little woman in the world." — S. D. 
Gordon. 

Sacrifice Hallows the Gift 

" Sacrifice hallows what it touches. And under its hal- 
lowingjjtouch values increase by long leaps and big bounds- 



Colportage and Personal Service 189 

Here is a fine opportunity for those who would increase the 
value of gifts that seem small in amount. Without stop- 
ping now for the philosophy of it, this is the tremendous 
fact. 

"Perhaps the annual foreign missionary offering is being 
taken up in your church. The pastor has preached a 
special sermon, and it has caught fire within you. You 
find yourself thinking as he preaches, and during the prayer 
following, ' I believe I can easily make it fifty dollars this 
year. I gave thirty-five last time.' You want to be 
careful not to make it fifty dollars, because you can do that 
easily. If you are shrewd to have your money count the 
most, you will pinch a bit somewhere and make it sixty- 
two fifty; for the extra amount that you pinch to give 
will hallow the original sum, and increase its practical 
value enormously. Sacrifice hallows what it touches, and 
the hallowing touch acts in geometrical proportion upon 
the value of the gift. 

"Better turn your gown, and readjust your hat, for the 
sacrifice involved will give a new beauty to the spirit 
looking out through your face; and real folks will not be 
able to get past the beauty of face to the incidentals of 
your apparel. Wear your derby another season, and get 
your shoes half-soled, and some deft mending done. Let 
that extra horse go to other buyers, and the automobile be 
picked up by somebody who has not yet mined any of the 
fine gold of sacrifice. The coming rainy day will never be 
able to use up all that some folks are salting down for 
it." — Id. 

" Didn't Take a Copper Along " 

"You remember the very old story of the wealthy man 
who died. And in a group of people talking together, 
somebody asked the usual question, 'How much did he 



190 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

leave?' And a wise man in the company replied tersely, 
'Every cent; didn't take a copper along.' That story 
is apt to provoke a smile. But, do you know, it is sadder 
than it is witty. The man had gained great wealth. He 
must have been endowed with some force and talent to do 
that. His whole life and strength and talent had been 
devoted to making money and hoarding it. That money 
was the whole output of the man 's life. Then. he died, and 
the whole output of his life was left behind. He passed 
out of this life stripped to the skin. Into the other world, 
where wealth is reckoned otherwise than in gold, he entered 
a sheer pauper. The purchasing power of his wealth 
stopped at the line of departure out of this world. . . . 
" Stuff " for the Dump Heap 

"Here is another man who gets through his life down on 
the earth, and goes out into the other life. Judging by the 
whole tenor of his life, he will attempt to take some of his 
belongings with him. Indeed, so much are these be- 
longings a part of his very life that they seem inseparable 
from him. Here he comes up to the gateway of the upper 
world. He is lugging along with him a farm or two, some 
town lots and houses, and a lot of beautifully engraved 
paper, — bank stock and railroad bonds and other bonds. 
They are absorbing him completely as he puffs slowly 
along. 

"And as he gets up to the gateway, the gateman will say, 
'What's all that stuff?' 'Stuff!' he will say, astonished, 
'this is the most precious wealth of earth, Sir. I have 
spent my whole life, the cream of my strength, in ac- 
cumulating this.' 'O, well,' the reply will be, 'I have no 
doubt that is so! I am not disputing your word at all. 
But that sort of thing does not pass current up in this land. 
That has to be exchanged at the bankers' offices for the 
sort of coinage we use here.' 



Colportage and Personal Service 191 

"The man looks a little relieved at this last remark. 
The other talk has sounded strange, and given him a queer 
misgiving in his heart, as he listened. But 'banker' and 
1 exchange ' — - that sounds familiar. The ground feels a 
bit steadier. He picks up new spirit. 'Where are the 
bankers' offices, please?' he asks, eagerly. 'They are all 
down on the earth,' comes the quiet answer. 'You must 
do your exchanging before you get as far up as this. That 
stuff is all dead loss now. You can't take it back to the 
bankers' now, and it is of no value here. Just leave it 
over on that dump heap there outside the gate, and come 
in yourself.' And the man comes in with a strangely 
stripped and bare feeling. 

"What we get and keep for the sake of having, we lose, 
for we leave it behind. What we give away freely for 
Jesus' sake, for men's sake, we shall find by and by 
we have kept, for we have sent it ahead in a changed 
form." — Id 

A Working Relationship 

But the gift of our own lives in "individual service for 
individuals," is a greater gift than that of money or 
property. It should precede all lesser gifts; for, like the 
initial figure in a sum, it gives additional value to all that 
follow it. Besides, this consecration to service establishes 
a working relationship between Jesus and his followers. 
The laboring together of Jesus and his people is beauti- 
fully illustrated in the calling of the twelve disciples. 

John and Andrew were directed to "the Lamb of God," 
and they followed him. He received them, and they 
abode with him that first day. But finding Jesus and 
abiding with him, does not mean idleness. The first 
touch with Jesus begets a passion for souls. 



19 2 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

Getting Somebody Else 

"These two men went away from Jesus that evening 
only to come back with some others. They went from 
talking with him to talking with others for him. Their 
personal contact was the beginning of their service. This 
(John i) is one of the famous personal work chapters. 
There are three 'findeths' in it. Andrew findeth his 
brother Peter. That was a great find. John, in his 
modesty, does not speak of it, but in all likelihood he 
findeth James his brother. Jesus findeth Philip, and 
Philip, in turn, findeth Nathanael, the guileless man. 

"That word findeth is very suggestive, even to being 
picturesque. It tells the absence of these other men. 
Their whereabouts might be guessed, but were not known. 
There was in the searchers a purpose, and a warmth in the 
heart under that purpose. As Andrew looked and listened, 
he said to himself, 'Peter must hear this; Peter must see 
this Man.' And perhaps he asks to be excused, and, 
reaching for his hat, hastens out to get his brother and 
bring him back to the house. He wants more himself, but 
he'll get it with Peter in, too. And so it would be with 
John likely. 

"Peter had to be searched for. Most men do. He was 
probably absorbed with all his impulsive intensity in 
some matter in hand. Maybe Andrew had to pull quite a 
bit to get him started. But he got him. Andrew was a 
good sticker; hard to shake him off. His is a fine name 
for a brotherhood of personal workers. And when Peter 
once got started, he never quit going. He stumbled, but 
he got up, and got up only to go on. Most men need some 
one to get them started. There's need of more starters, 
more of us starting people moving Jesus' way."— Id. 






Colportage and Personal Service 193 

Wayside Ministries 

"There are two ways in which all of us work, and two 
classes of results which flow from our lives. There are 
things we do purposely — that we deliberately plan to do. 
We take pains to do them. We spend long years often- 
times in fitting ourselves to do them. They cost us 
thought and care. We travel many miles, perchance, to 
perform them. They are the things we live to do. 

"Then there are other things we do that have formed no 
part of our plan. We did not set out in the morning to 
accomplish them. They are unplanned, unpurposed 
things not premeditated nor prearranged. They are 
wayside ministries. They are little things we do be- 
tween the greater things. They are the seeds we drop 
by chance from our hand in the path as we go out to the 
broad field to sow. They are the minor kindnesses and 
courtesies that fill up the interstices of our busy days. 
They are the little flowers and lowly plants that grow in 
the shade of the majestic trees or hidden away like violets 
under the taller plants and shrubs. They are the smaller 
opportunities of usefulness which open to us as we carry 
our great responsibilities. They are the things « f which 
we take no note, and perhaps retain no memory, — mere 
touches as we hasten by, words dropped as we pass along. 

"We set no store by this part of our life-work. We do 
not expect to see any results from it. We pride ourselves 
on our great masterpieces. We point to them as the 
things which fitly represent us, the things in which we hope " 
to live. 

"And yet oftentimes these unpurposed things are the 
holiest and most beautiful things we do, far outshining 
those which we ourselves prize so highly. I believe that 
when the books are opened, it will be seen that the very 
best parts of many lives are the parts by which they set 

13 



194 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

no store, and from which they expected no outcome, no 
fruits; while the things they took pride in and wrought 
with plan and pains shall prove to be of but small value. 
Our Lord tells us that the righteous shall be surprised in the 
judgment to hear of noble deeds wrought by them of 
which they have no knowledge nor recollection. . . . 

" It is said that when Thorwaldsen, the Danish sculptor, 
returned to his native land with those rare works of art 
which have made his name immortal, chiseled in Italy with 
patient toil and glowing inspiration, the servants who 
unpacked the marbles scattered upon the ground the 
straw which was wrapped around them. The next sum- 
mer flowers from the garden of Rome were blooming in the 
streets of Copenhagen from the seeds thus borne and 
planted by accident. . . . 

"We go out in the morning to our round of duties, and 
perform them with more or less faithfulness and effective- 
ness. But during the busy hours of the day we find oppor- 
tunity for doing many minor kindnesses. We meet a 
friend on the street whose heart is heavy, and we stop to 
speak a word of thoughtful cheer and hope, which sings in 
his ear like a bar of angel 's song all day long. We ring a 
neighbor's door-bell, as we go out from dinner, to inquire 
for his sick child, and there is a little more brightness in 
that sad home all the afternoon because of this thought- 
fulness. We walk a few steps with a young man who is in 
danger of slipping out of the way, and let fall a sincere 
-word of interest, which he will remember, and which may 
help to save him. . . . 

"We are writing business letters, and we put in a per- 
sonal sentence or a kindly inquiry, revealing a human heart 
even amid the great clashing, grinding wheels of business, 
and it carries a pulse of better feeling into some dingy 
office and some dreary treadmill life far away. . . . 



Colportage and Personal Service 195 

" In every life there are these opportunities for wayside 
ministry. Indeed, the voluntary activities of any life do 
not by any means measure its influence. The things we 
do with deliberate intention make but a small part of the 
sum total of our life results. Our influence has no nights 
and keeps no Sabbaths. It is continuous as life itself. We 
are leaving impressions all the while on other lives. There 
is a ministry in our handshaking, in our greeting, in the 
most casual conversation, in the very expression we wear 
on our faces as we move along the street, in the gentle 
sympathy that adds such a thrill of strength to fainting 
weariness, — 

"'Like moonlight on a troubled sea, 
Brightening the storm it can not calm.' 
"To meet some people on the sidewalk and hear their 
cheery 'Good morning!' makes one happier all day. To 
encounter others is as dispiriting as meeting a funeral 
procession. There is a magic potency always in a sunny 
face. There is a holy aroma always about unselfish love. 
A joyful person scatters gladness like song-notes. A con- 
secrated Christian life shecis a tender warmth wherever it 
moves. What a wondrous sphere of usefulness is thus 
opened to every one of us ! Preparation for it is best made 
by heart-culture." — "Week-Day Religion," by J. R. 
Miller, pages 135-143. 

A Colporteur's Reward 
The influence of wayside ministries is indicated by the 
experience of a colporteur. Two years after he labored in 
a certain township, another colporteur was sent over the 
same territory. In passing through a country district, he 
called upon a woman and her son, both of whom inquired 
if he had ever met the young man who passed through 
that section two years before, selling a book entitled "The 



196 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan." It 
seemed that the little boy had hurt his foot the day the 
first colporteur visited them. The mother was unable to 
console the little fellow, but the colporteur somehow got 
on the sunny side of his confidence, and was permitted to 
dress the hurt. They had often thought of the Christian 
kindness and courtesy of the young man, and wished to be 
remembered to him. 

In the same district the second colporteur called on an 
aged woman who lived in a little cottage all alone. She 
made similar inquiry after the first colporteur, who had 
spoken words of encouragement, and had prayed with her 
before leaving. She said: "I don't know his name, and 
shall probably never see him again; but if you ever meet 
him, tell him that I have prayed for him every morning and 
every evening since that day." 

What a reward for a very little act of kindness and 
Christian thoughtfulness! May it not be that many a 
colporteur's feet are held from slipping by the prayers of 
those to whom he has ministered? 

A Cup of Cold Water 

"'Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little 
ones a cup of cold water only . . . shall in no wise 
lose his reward,' said Jesus. There could not well be a 
simpler act, a smaller service, than that. . . . No one 
would deny it. Bread may be doubtful, but bubbling 
fountains, pouring rivers, shining lakes, are cups so plenti- 
ful that few ever add to the prayer for bread, ' Give us this 
day our daily water.' 

"It is hardly an exaggeration to say that two thirds of 
all that makes it 'beautiful to be alive' consists in cup- 
offerings of water. . . . You can not step my 
journey for me, can not carry me on your back, can not do 



Col portage and Personal Service 197 

me any great service; but it makes a world of difference 
to me whether I do my part in the world with or without 
these little helps which fellow travelers can exchange. 
'I am busy, Johnnie, and can't help it,' said the father, 
writing away, when the little fellow hurt his finger. ' Yes, 
you could, you might have said, "O!" ' sobbed Johnnie. 
There 's a Johnnie in tears inside of all of us upon occasions. 
The old Quaker was right : ' I expect to pass through this 
life but once. If there is any kindness or any good thing I 
can do to my fellow beings, let me do it now. I shall 
pass this way but once. ' 

"'An arm of aid to the weak, 

A friendly hand to the friendless, 
Kind words, so short to speak, 

But whose echo is endless, — 
The world is wide, these things are small, 
They may be nothing, but they are all!' 

— Gannet. 
Counting on Us 

"Somebody has supposed the scene that he thinks may 
have taken place after Jesus went back. The last the 
earth sees of him is the cloud — not a rain-cloud, a glory 
cloud — that sweeps down and conceals him from view. 
And the earth has not seen him since, though the old Book 
does say that some day he's coming back in just the same 
way he went away, and some of us are strongly inclined to 
think it will be as the Book says in that regard. 

"But this friend I speak of has supposed that 
the Master is walking down the golden street one day, arm 
in arm with Gabriel, talking intently, earnestly. Gabriel 
is saying: — 

"'Master, you died for the whole world down there, did 
you not? ' 

"'Yes.' 



198 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

"'You must have suffered much,' with an earnest look 
into that great face with its unremovable marks. 

"'Yes,' again comes the answer in a wondrous voice, 
very quiet, but strangely full of deepest feeling. 

"'And do they all know about it?' 

"'O, no! Only a few in Palestine know about it so far.' 

"'Well, Master, what's your plan? What have you 
done about telling the world you died for, that you have 
died for them? What's your plan?' 

"'Well,' the Master is supposed to answer, 'I asked 
Peter, and James, and John, and little Scotch Andrew, and 
some more of them down there just to make it the business 
of their lives to tell others, and the others are to tell others, 
and the others others, and yet others, and still others, until 
the last man in the farthest circle has heard the story and 
has felt the thrilling and the thralling power of it.' 

"And Gabriel knows us folk down here pretty well. 
He has had more than one contact with the earth. He 
knows the kind of stuff in us. And he is supposed to 
answer, with a sort of hesitating reluctance, as though he 
could see difficulties in the working of the plan, 'Yes — 
but — suppose Peter fails. Suppose after a while John 
simply does not tell others. Suppose their descendants, 
their successors away off in the first edge of the twentieth 
century, get so busy about things — some of them proper 
enough, some may be not quite so proper — that they do 
not tell others, what then ? ' 

"And his eyes are big with the intenseness of his thought, 
for he is thinking of — the suffering, and he is thinking too 
of the difference to the man who hasn 't been told — ' what 
then?' 

"And back comes that quiet, wondrous voice of Jesus, 
'Gabriel, / haven't' made any other plans; I'm counting on 
them.'" — S. D. Gordon. 



The Resources Which 
Do Not Fail 



The pivot of piety is prayer. — Pearson. 
" Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered 
thee; I answered thee in the secret place of 
thunder. 11 Ps. 81:7. 
" The Spirit of Jehovah clothed itself with 
Gideon. 11 Judges 6:34.' 



VII 
The Resources Which Do Not Fail 

"II 7TAN shall not live by bread alone, but by every word 
■*■*•*■ that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matt. 
4: 4. This was the reply of Jesus to the temptation of the 
devil at the close of the forty days ' fast in the desert. The 
circumstances make clear the interpretation. 

The "bread" includes all those natural resources upon 
which men depend for life, and the "word" means that 
power of God which created and sustains the world. 

This was a vital experience in the life of Jesus. Follow- 
ing his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended, anointing him 
for service. Immediately the Spirit led him into the 
wilderness, where he was assailed by the temptations of 
the great enemy, and demonstrated that the children of 
God are not dependent wholly nor primarily upon the tem- 
poral things of this world for life and success, but may 
rely with confidence upon "every word that proceedeth 
out of the mouth of God." 

God's Promise Our Guaranty 

As our colporteur work is organized upon a self-support- 
ing basis, the question of resources becomes a practical one 
to all who enter this department of the Lord's work. 
Apparently, they are thrown upon their own resources. 
They have no definite wages. They seem to be dependent 
upon the rains, the crops, and the labor conditions in the 
industrial world. They are often tempted to rely upon 
these temporal things, and to regard them as the basis of 
their success. 

A colporteur once asked the writer this question : ' ' What 
salary will you guarantee if I enlist in this colporteur 
work?" "I can give you no guaranty; you must depend 
wholly upon God," was my reply. "But," said he, "I 

201 



202 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

have a family to support; and I must have something 
definite to depend upon. I am willing to volunteer if I can 
be assured that I shall receive ten dollars a week." This 
was a small wage, and yet I could not give him the assur- 
ance. "Then what have I to rely upon for the support of 
my family if I abandon my present work, and am thrown 
upon the uncertainty of a colporteur's life? " I could give 
him but one assurance: "The Master says: 'Go ye also 
into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you,' 
and no honest man would ask for more." What better 
guaranty could he expect? It is as reliable as God 's word, 
and that word has never failed. 

The Lessons of the Wilderness 

The Master's reply to the tempter was quoted from the 
words of Moses to the children of Israel, when Moses was 
rehearsing to them the providences of God during their 
sojourn in the wilderness. In Deut. 8: 3 we read: "And 
he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee 
with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy 
fathers know; that he might make thee to know that man 
doth not live by bread only, but by every word that pro- 
ceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." 

A Type of the Remnant Church 

The church in the wilderness, journeying from Egypt to 
the promised land, is a type of the remnant church which is 
called out of modern Babylon, and is on the final march to 
the future land of promise. 

When Israel went up out of Egypt, they were loaded 
with supplies. Their hearts were glad with thoughts of 
freedom from Egyptian bondage. The brickmaking, 
under the lash of the taskmaster, was behind them; the 
land of promise was almost in sight. What a great day of 



Resources Which Do Not Fail 203 

deliverance and joy! The hardships and trials of the 
coming journey had not been considered. 

Soon, they came to the Red Sea, where they found them- 
selves in a very strait place. The Red Sea was on the 
right hand, and the mountains on the left; and in the rear, 
the hosts of Pharaoh's army, with many chariots, were 
pursuing them, to take them back again into bondage. 
"And they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel 
cried out unto the Lord. And they said unto Moses. 
Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us 
away to die in the wilderness?" They complained of the 
Lord and of Moses; for they had not learned that the 
word of God can always bring deliverance. This was the 
first experience by which they were to learn this great 
lesson . 

"Go Forward" 

"And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand 
still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show 
you to-day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, 
ye shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall 
fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the Lord 
said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak 
unto the children of Israel, that they go forward." That 
was the word for the hour, "Go forward." They were 
looking backward. They obeyed, and "the angel of 
God . . . removed and went behind them; and the 
pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood 
behind them: and it came between the camp of the 
Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and 
darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these; so 
that the one came not near the other all the night." 

The Place for Clouds 
Note that when they obeyed God and moved forward, 
the cloud lifted and rested behind them. That is the 



204 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

place for clouds. When the cloud was in front, it was 
blackness; when it settled behind them, the blackness was 
toward the army of the Egyptians, but it gave light to the 
children of Israel. So it is with all our clouds. They are 
black on the Egyptian side. We see that side when they 
are in front of us; but on God 's side they give light, and the 
light shows when the clouds are behind us. "Every cloud 
has a silver lining." 

"The inner side of every cloud 

Is bright and shining; 
I therefore turn my clouds about, 
And always wear them inside out, 

To show the lining." 

The next day there came that great deliverance. Israel 
crossed the Red Sea on dry land. And when Israel saw 
this great deliverance from the Egyptians, "the people 
feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant 
Moses." Ex. 14: 5-31. 

The Song of Deliverance 

Then there was joy in the camp. Songs of assurance 
and thanksgiving were heard instead of murmurs. And so 
it is with us all when we reach the victorious side of our 
struggles and difficulties. 

"Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song 
unto the Lord, ... I will sing unto the Lord, for 
he hath triumphed gloriously. . . . The Lord is my 
strength and song, and he is become my salvation. 
. . . Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in 
power. . . . Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among 
the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in 
praises, doing wonders? . . . The Lord shall reign 
forever and ever." Ex. 15: 1, 2, 6, n, 18. 



Resources Which Do Not Fail 205 

The Bitter Waters of Marah Made Sweet 
But their song of deliverance had hardly died away 
before they came to Marah; and "they could not drink of 
the waters of Marah, for they were bitter." We have all 
come to Marah sometime in our experience, and have 
tasted the bitter waters of sorrow and disappointment. 
"And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What 
shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord, and the Lord 
showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, 
the waters were made sweet." How quickly the difficulty 
was remedied when the Lord took hold of the situation! 
and how quickly the bitter experience changed! For 
soon "they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of 
water, and threescore and ten palm-trees: and they en- 
camped there by the waters." Ex. 15:23-27. 

Bread From Heaven and Water From the Rock 
But soon they were on the march again, and they "came 
unto the wilderness of Sin," and the bread they had 
brought from Egypt ran short. Evidently they had 
planned for a sort of picnic journey to the promised land. 
They had not counted on difficulties; they had expected to 
be beyond the border by this time. Their bread was gone, 
and the great multitude was left hungry in the wilderness. 
"And the whole congregation of the children of Israel 
murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 
And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God 
we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, 
when we sat by the flesh-pots, and when we did eat bread 
to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilder- 
ness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger." 

But the Lord heard their cries, and pitied them, even 
though they murmured; and in the midst of that sandy 
desert where, from the human point of view, there was no 



206 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

hope for bread, the angels dropped down a supply from the 
granaries above; and daily, through all their wanderings, 
they were fed with angels' food. Thus daily a miracle 
was wrought in their behalf, to teach them that man doth 
not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Ex. 
16: 1-8. 

Then the water failed, and they murmured; and Moses 
cried unto the Lord, and the Lord gave them water from 
the smitten rock. Ex. 17: 1-7. 

The Twelve Spies 
When they came near the promised land, twelve men, 
one from each tribe, were sent to spy out the land and 
bring a report of the cities and strongholds and the fruit- 
fulness of the land. And they went up and passed through 
the land, and after forty days returned, bringing with 
them samples of the fruit, as evidence that the land was 
"a good land . . . flowing with milk and honey." 

The " Nevertheless " of That Majority Report 
But the twelve spies were divided in their conclusions: 
Ten of them made up a majority report. They said : " We 
came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it 
floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. 
Nevertheless" — ah! there the trouble began. They had 
forgotten the deliverance from the armies of Egypt, the 
bread from heaven, and the water from the rock. And so 
there came in this "nevertheless," which caused them all 
their trouble, and sent them back to a life of wandering, 
until their bones were left to whiten in the wilderness. 
Only two, Caleb and Joshua, who brought back their 
courageous minority report, were privileged to enter the 
goodly land. 

Conservative Wise Men of the World 
But the ten spies looked at the situation logically and 
wisely, from the human point of view. They saw things as 



Resources Which Do Not Fail 207 

men of the world see them. They said: "Nevertheless 
the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities 
are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the 
children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land 
of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the 
Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites 
dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. And Caleb 
stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up 
at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 
But the men that went up with him said, We be not able 
to go -up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 
And they brought up an evil report of the land which they 
had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land* 
through which we have gone to search it, is a land that 
eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that 
we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we 
saw the giarrts, the sons of Anak, which come of the 
giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, 
and so we were in their sight." Num. 13: 26-33. 

Difficulties Magnified 

Notice how the difficulties grew as the spies rehearsed 
them. As they talked about those walls and giants, the 
walls grew higher and the giants taller, until the spies 
doubtless came to believe that they themselves were as 
grasshoppers. 

But was this a true picture of the situation? — It cer- 
tainly was, from the standpoint of human reasoning. 
And yet the Lord had prepared the way for a speedy con- 
quest, as was learned many years afterward from the 
harlot Rahab; for she said to the spies who. visited her 
house: "I know that the Lord hath given you the land, 
and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the in- 
habitants of the land faint because of you. For we have 



208 The Printing- Press aud the Gospel 

heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for 
you, when ye came out of Egypt." Joshua 2:9, 10. 

A Forty Years' Fright 

So the story of that wonderful deliverance at the Red 
Sea had gone on ahead, giving such a fright to the Canaan- 
ites, who knew not Jehovah, that they had not recovered 
from it during the forty years that had intervened. Their 
walls indeed were high, and their giants were tall, but 
they themselves were convinced that the God who could 
give such a deliverance from the armies of Pharaoh,. could 
cast down their walls and smite their mighty giants. They 
themselves had learned the lesson that Israel was so slow 
to learn — that where God works, he brings results. 

Caleb and Joshua, looking at the situation from the 
standpoint of God's promises and resources, said: "Let 
us go up at once, and possess it." Compare Deut. 31 : i-8- 

The Boasting of Sennacherib 

From the human point of view, the boasting of Sen- 
nacherib, king of Assyria, was based upon sound reasoning. 
He sent his servants to speak to the people of Jerusalem, 
and rehearse before them his victories over many kings and 
their armies, and to tell them of the gods he had over- 
thrown. But Hezekiah and Isaiah encouraged the people. 
Hezekiah said: "Be strong and courageous, be not afraid 
nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multi- 
tude that is with him: for there be more with us than with 
him: with him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord 
our God to help us, and to fight our battles." 2 Chron. 
32:7, 8. 

The Reply of Isaiah 

And Isaiah the prophet said: "Thus saith the Lord God 
of Israel, . . . The Virgin the daughter of Zion hath 



Resources Which Do Not Fail 209 

despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of 
Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. Whom hast 
thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast 
thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? 
even against the Holy One of Israel. . . . Therefore 
thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He 
shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor 
come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. By 
the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and 
shall not come into this city, saith the Lord. For I will 
defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my 
servant David's sake. And it came to pass that night, 
that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp 
of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand." 
2 Kings 19: 20-22, 32-35. 

The Victory of Faith and Obedience 

Read the beautiful lesson found in Joshua 1: 1-9, and 
note that in the series of promises which the Lord made to 
Joshua, not an intimation is given of any temporal re- 
sources or strategy being factors in the great war which he 
was about to wage against the land of Canaan. 

He was instructed to be obedient to God and to keep 
his law, and turn not from it to the right hand nor to the 
left, but to observe all that was written therein. Upon 
these conditions the promises were made: "For then thou 
shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have 
good success." "Be strong and of a good courage; be not 
afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is 
with thee whithersoever thou goest." 

God's " High Places " of Deliverance 

But the colporteur may find it easy to believe in the 
deliverance which the Lord wrought for mighty armies, 
14 



210 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

and not be able to grasp the practical realities of his power 
when applied to droughts, strikes, and all such temporal 
interferences which beset the path of the colporteur. Let 
such turn to Hab. 3: 17-19, and read: "Although the fig- 
tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; 
the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield 
no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there 
shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the 
Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord 
God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' 
feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places." 
The prophet here describes a time of drought and dev- 
astation which sweeps away all temporal resources; and 
yet the child of God has deliverance from the troubles, 
triumphs over the difficulties, and marches onward upon 
the "high places," which the Lord has cast up for his 
children. "He will make my feet like hinds' feet," says 
the prophet. A hind is swifter than a man. It appears, 
then, that when human resources are swept away, "man's 
extremity becomes God's opportunity," and his blessing 
makes our feet swift in service; and we accomplish more 
than would otherwise have been possible. 

Prosperity in the Path of a Cyclone 

A colporteur bears witness to this truth in the following 
incident : — 

"A cyclone swept through the territory where I was 
working. Houses and fences were thrown down, and the 
crops were laid waste. As I looked out upon the desola- 
tion, I wondered what my duty might be under such con- 
ditions, and the thought occurred to me that the people 
were in more need of help at that moment than the day 
before, and perhaps this might be an opportune time to 
visit them. So I decided to continue my work. 



Resources Which Do Not Fail 211 

1 ' The first man I visited was a farmer. He was picking 
up the scattered rails of his fence, and grumbling over the 
desolation on his farm. I showed him my book. I 
pointed out the fact that all these storms are signs of the 
times in which we live, and that my book would explain 
the significance of the cyclone. * 'There,' said the farmer, 
1 1 told my wife this morning that I believed this storm 
was big enough to be noticed, and that some one would 
write a book about it; and here you are, before night, 
with a book telling about this cyclone.'" 

And so he bought a book, and the colporteur sold seven- 
teen copies that day in the path of the storm, the best 
day's work he had done in that territory. 

Living by Faith 
Success in God's work comes from him, and from him 
alone. We must be fully equipped with his armor. Eph 
6: 10-18. We must put off the old man with his sins and 
impediments, and put on the new man, who lives by faith. 
Romans 7, 8. "I am crucified with Christ," writes the 
apostle, "nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in 
me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the 
faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself 
for me." Gal. 2: 20. 

Christ Within; the World Without 

The secret of this life of power is in keeping the victo- 
rious Christ within the heart, while shutting out the world 
with all its impediments. Jesus said, "Let not your heart 
be troubled." He knew there would be troubles enough. 
He had met them himself; and he is "touched with the 
feeling of our infirmity," having been "in all points 
tempted like as we are." 

Again, he said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: 



212 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

but be of good cheer;" that is, keep the trouble outside, 
and the power of victory inside. Paul said, "We are 
troubled on every side, yet not [inside] distressed." He 
kept the troubles outside, and the victorious Lord inside. 
The man whose troubles are inside, has a troublous time. 
If the drought gets inside, the worker has a dry time; a 
cyclone inside gives him a stormy time. The "hard times' ' 
inside mean a hard time. 

And a panic is doubtless the worst of all. The word 
panic is derived from the name of the god Pan, the old bad 
god of the woods. In ancient times he was supposed to 
have driven away the beasts when the hunter returned 
from the forest without game. In case of a rout in battle, 
this god Pan was supposed to have stirred it up, and there 
was a pan-ic. 

The "high places" of the Lord are cast up above these 
conditions, and he invites his children to walk with him 
upon them. Droughts and strikes and panics and cy- 
clones drive the weak, faithless colporteurs from the field. 
The strong remain, and in times of trouble they frequently 
do their best work. 

The " Keep " of the Tower 

In the great castles of Europe, inside the moat and the 
gate and all the other battlements, there is a centra^ 
round tower. In ancient times, when these castles were 
the fortifications of the country, this tower was supplied 
with arms and provisions for emergency. In time of siege, 
if the outer battlements fell, the hard-pressed could flee to 
the round tower, or "keep" as it is called, and there make 
a final stand against the enemy. 

Reserved for Himself 
The heart also has its round tower, or keep, in which the 
last stand is made against the enemy. If the droughts and 



Resources Which Do Not Fail 213 

the floods, the cyclones and the panics, the politics and 
the elections, — these temporal enemies of our work, — are 
allowed to gain entrance to the keep, the battle is lost. 
God has reserved that round tower as a dwelling-place for 
himself. He has pledged all his resources for our defense 
and victory. While he occupies the keep, we are kept; 
while he fights for us, we win. "This is the victory that 
overcometh the world." To learn this truth, and be able 
to achieve daily by virtue of its power, is to learn the 
science of gospel colportage. 

The Seven Years' Drought 

Beginning about the year 1895, the Australian conti- 
nent suffered from what was known as "the seven years' 
drought." It was the most dreadful scourge that had 
ever visited that country. Before the drought broke, 
there were children born after it began, attending school 
who had never seen a rainfall. For hundreds of miles 
across the most fertile prairies not a blade of grass could be 
seen, and along the fences lay the skeletons of cattle that 
had wandered up and down for food and water until they 
perished. During three years eleven million sheep died in 
Queensland alone. 

A wealthy cattle man in Queensland lost over two hun- 
dred thousand head of cattle, the accumulated wealth of 
many years of toil. When the grass failed, trees were cut 
down for the cattle to browse upon the branches, and every 
possible means was used to save them; but finally, as the 
cattle weakened, they were slaughtered, and fed to the 
hogs. The only revenue received was from the sale of the 
hogs that fed upon them. This was an extreme case, but 
it illustrates the awfulness of the drought which, to a 
greater or less degree, continued for seven years over the 
larger portion of Australia. 



214 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

And how did the colporteur fare during this time? As 
the troubles grew worse, he leaned more heavily upon God. 
The meaning of such calamities, and their bearing upon the 
closing events in earth's history, were explained to the 
people; and the sale of our books continued to increase. 

When the drought began, the distribution of our liter- 
ature in Australia amounted to twenty thousand dollars a 
year. The last year of the drought sales amounted to 
about eighty thousand. 

From a human point of view this progress can not be 
explained. From God's standpoint, it is perfectly clear. 
It is like God to reveal himself a mighty deliverer under 
such conditions. 



From Famine to Plenty in One Day 

God has ways of bringing things about according to 
word. There is no limit to his resources. 

In the* days of Elisha, Ben-hadad, king of Syria, be 
sieged Samaria, and the famine was very great, "until an 
ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the 
fourth part of a cab of dove 's dung for five pieces of silver." 

One day, as the king of Syria was walking upon the 
wall, a woman cried to him for help. "And the king said 
unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This 
woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may. eat him 
to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow. So we boiled 
my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next 
day, Give thy son, that we may eat him : and she hath hid 
her son." 

And the king rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth. 
Believing that Elisha was responsible for this condition, he 
said: "God do so and more also to me, if the head of 
Elisha . . . shall stand on him this day." 

And the king sent a man to Elisha to slay him. But 






Resources Which Do Not Fail 215 

the prophet met the king's messenger with this startling 
statement: " Hear ye the word of the Lord, . . . To- 
morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold 
for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the 
gate of Samaria." 

With bitter irony and sarcasm, this worldly wise man 
replied: "Behold, if the Lord would make windows in 
heaven, might this thing be?" 

This messenger was one of the lords of Samaria, upon 
whom the king leaned for counsel. He was one of the 
wise men of the kingdom. His reasoning was altogether 
human, based upon accurate calculations, according to the 
things of this world. There was Samaria shut in by the 
hosts of the king of Syria. The plains about the city were 
among the most fertile in the world, but the seed must be 
sown and the harvest be gathered before their food supply 
could be replenished. Besides, probably there had never 
been a time in Samaria when a measure of fine flour was 
sold for so small a price as a shekel, and two measures of 
barley for a shekel. But there was the word of the prophet 
that such would be the case on the morrow. 

And why should it not be? The windows of heaven had 
been opened for their fathers, and they had been fed forty 
years in a barren wilderness, where they obtained food 
without money and without price. 

The Lord even challenges his people to prove him 
in that very thing. He says: "And prove me now 
herewith . . . if I will not open you the windows of 
heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not 
be room enough to receive it." Because of the unbelief 
of the messenger, the prophet said: "Behold, thou shalt 
see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof." N 

In the gate of Samaria were four lepers. The famine was 
so great they were receiving nothing from begging. That 



216 The Printing- Press and the Gospel 

night they decided to throw themselves upon the mercy 
of the Syrians. When they arrived at the camp, "there 
was no man there. For the Lord had made the host of the 
Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, 
even the noise of a great host: and . . . they arose 
and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their 
horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled 
for their life." 

And the lepers reported to the king, and the king sent 
his servants to follow the Syrians, and see whether they had 
actually fled or had set a trap. "And they went after 
them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of gar- 
ments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in 
their haste." 

The food supplies of the Syrian army had been left in 
the abandoned camp. The people of Samaria took pos- 
session and made arrangements for a quick distribution, 
lest the Syrians should return and take it away. The 
king appointed the unbelieving servant to make the dis- 
tribution to the people, and "a measure of fine flour was 
sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, 
according to the word of the Lord." But the people, in 
their hunger and haste, trod upon the king's servant "in 
the gate, and he died," as the man of God had said. 

What a swiftly passing cycle of events during those 
few hours, which relieved the famine, gave the people 
abundance, and fulfilled the word of the Lord ! See 
2 Kings 6:24-33; 7:1-20. 

What a blessed assurance it is to know that God 
does not change; that he is as mighty now as in Elisha's 
day; that he has the same care for his own; and that he 
makes bare his arm to-day for the help of his people the 
same as in ages past! 



Resources Which Do Not Fail 217 

Gideon Clothed With Power 

" Back in the old book of Judges is a peculiar expression 
which is not brought out as clearly as it might be in our 
English Bibles. The sixth chapter and thirty-fourth verse 
might properly be read: ' The Spirit of Jehovah clothed him- 
self with Gideon. 1 It was a time of desperate crisis in the 
nation. God chose this man for leadership among his 
fellows. If you take his life throughout, you will not 
think him an ideal character. But he seems to be the best 
available stuff there was. He became the general guiding 
an army in what, to human eyes, was a perfectly hopeless 
struggle. Men saw Gideon moving about giving orders. 
But this strangely significant phrase lets us into the secret 
of his wise strategy and splendid victory. 'The Spirit of 
Jehovah clothed himself with Gideon.' Gideon's per- 
sonality was merely a suit of clothes which God wore that 
day in achieving that tremendous victory for his people." 
— S. D. Gordon. 

"Is not thy grace as mighty now 
As when Elijah felt its power? 
When glory beamed from Moses' brow, 
Or Job endured the trying hour? 

"Remember, Lord, the ancient days; 
Renew thy work, thy grace restore; 
And while to thee our hearts we raise, 
On us thy Holy Spirit pour." 

Unfailing Resources 
"A few years ago a young engineer was being examined 
for graduation, when his examiner proposed the following 
question: 'Suppose you have a steam-pump constructed 
for a ship, under your own supervision, and know that 
everything is in perfect working order, yet, when you 
throw out the hose, it will not draw. What would you 



218 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

think? ' ' I should think, Sir, there must be a defect 
somewhere.' 'But such a conclusion is not admissible; 
for the supposition is that everything is perfect, and yet 
it will not work.' ' Then, Sir, I should look over the side to 
see if the river had run dry.' So I should look to see if God 
had vanished from the universe." — 5. H. Piatt. 
Illustrations of Prevailing Prayer 
Prayer is the pivot upon which all these Bible deliv- 
erances turn. The following examples, arranged by Dr. 
J. Campbell , are illustrations of this truth: — 

1. Abraham's servant prays — Rebekah appears. 

2. Jacob wrestles and prays — Christ is conquered. 

Esau's mind is wonderfully turned from the re- 
vengeful purpose he had harbored for twenty 
years. 

3. Moses cries to God — the sea divides. 

4. Moses prays — Amalek is discomfited. 

5. Joshua prays — Achan is discovered. 

6. Hannah prays — Samuel is born. 

7. David prays — Ahithophel hangs himself. 

8. Asa prays — a victory is gained. 

9. Jehoshaphat cries to God — God turns away his 

foes. 

10. Isaiah and Hezekiah pray — 185,000 Assyrians are 

dead in twelve hours. 

11. Daniel prays — the dream is revealed. 

12. Daniel prays — the lions are muzzled. 

13. Daniel prays — the seventy weeks are revealed. 

14. Ezra prays — God answers (Ezra 8:21-23). 

15. Nehemiah darts a prayer — the king's heart is sof- 

tened in a minute (Neh. 2:6). 

16. Elijah prays — a drought of three and one-half 

years succeeds. 

17. Elijah prays — rain descends apace. 



Resources Which Do Not Fail 219 

18. Elisha prays — Jordan is divided. 

19. Elisha prays — a child's soul comes back. Prayer 

reaches eternity. 

20. The apostles pray — the Holy Ghost comes down. 

21. The church prays ardently in a prayer-meeting — 

Peter is delivered by an angel. 

Prayer the Key of Success 

Prayer is the very pulse and life-breath of the Christian. 
It is the golden key that unlocks the divine storehouse, and 
brings to us the resources of heaven in times of need. 
"Prayer is the slender nerve that moveth the muscles of 
Omnipotence." "More things are wrought by prayer 
than this world dreams of." 

"Prayer can obtain everything; can open the windows of 
heaven and shut the gates of hell; can detain an angel till he 
leaves a blessing; can open the treasures of rain, and soften 
the iron ribs of rocks till they melt into a flowing river; can 
arrest the sun in his course, and send the winds upon our 
errands. 

"It draws down gifts from heaven. It fills the empty 
soul. It brings strength to the weak, true riches to the 
poor, grace to the feeble. It is a bank of wealth, a mine of 
mercies, a store of blessings. It flies where the eagle 
never flew. It travels farther and moves faster than the 
light. Well might Mary, queen of Scotland, say, ' I fear 
John Knox's prayers more than an army of ten thousand 
men. ' " — Bishop Taylor. 

"Prayer has divided seas, rolled up flowing rivers, made 
flinty rocks gush into fountains, quenched flames of fire, 
muzzled lions, disarmed vipers and poisons, marshaled the 
stars against the wicked, stopped the course of the moon, 
arrested the sun in its rapid race, burst open iron gates, 
recalled souls from eternity, conquered the strongest 



220 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

devils, commanded legions of angels down from heaven. 
Prayer has bridled and chained the raging passions of man, 
and routed and destroyed vast armies of proud, daring, 
blustering atheists. Prayer has brought one man from 
the bottom of the sea, and carried another in a chariot of 
fire to heaven!" — Dr. Ryland. 

"All the promises in the Bible are so many bills of ex- 
change drawn by God the Father in heaven upon his Son 
Jesus Christ, and payable to every pious bearer, — to every 
one that comes to the mercy-seat, and offers the promise or 
bill for acceptance, and pleads in the way of obedient faith 
and prayer. Jesus, the High Treasurer of heaven, knows 
every letter of his Father's handwriting, and can never be 
imposed upon by any forged note. He will ever honor his 
Father's bills; he accepts them all. It is for his Father's 
honor that his bills never fail of acceptance and payment." 
— /. Beaumont. 

Sodom Inside 

The power of prayer is illustrated by a personal ex- 
perience in the colporteur work. I was canvassing in a 
little town called Sodom. The name is suggestive. The 
influence of Sodom, I fear, got inside; for I labored ear- 
nestly from Monday morning until Thursday night, with 
little success. I felt that I could not return home to my 
associates (for I was the leader of a little company of five 
colporteurs) without a better report of the week's work. 

Early Friday morning I went to a quiet place, in a little 
wood by a trout stream, not far from the roadside, and 
spent an hour in earnest prayer to God for deliverance. 
And right there the victory for the day was given. Peace 
came into my heart and took the place of worry and 
disappointment. A consciousness of power and success, 
which can not be described, came over me; and I went on 






Resources Which Do Not Fail 221 

my way rejoicing. That day, with only one exception, 
I sold a book at every house I visited. Prayer had gained 
the victory over temptations and trials, which had almost 
proved my defeat in that Sodom community. 

The Great Alchemist of Life 
How the whole world and all our prospects change while 
we commune with God in prayer! Prayer is the great 
alchemist of life; it changes defeat into victory, and weak- 
ness into strength. Many of our colporteurs have found 
the secret place of power; they see the difficulties in their 
territory on the one hand, and the power of God, with all 
his unfailing resources, on the other. Laying hold of the 
promises of God, they trample difficulties under their feet, 
and regardless of circumstances, their success increases 
every year. 

There are many others who are still living the life of 
struggle and defeat. They study the clouds and the winds, 
and they neither sow nor reap. They watch the indica- 
tions of the coining harvests, are sensitive to all the labor 
conditions, and study the government financial reports, 
and their courage rises and falls with the tide. All such 
we invite to take a place on the highway of success, — that 
highway which is cast up for the ransomed of the Lord, 
where our feet are as hinds' feet, where we run and are not 
weary, where we walk but do not faint. 
Conflict and Victory 
The history of our colporteur work is a story of contin- 
uous battle with the enemy. None seem to escape the 
hand-to-hand conflict. To all it comes sooner or later. 
Satan well know^s the power of the press; he uses it to great 
advantage in his own work. He well knows that the 
Word of God works to his undoing, and he meets every 
colporteur in hand-to-hand conflict. 



222 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

The writer has observed numerous illustrations of this 
fact in the past twenty- five years' experience in the col- 
porteur work. For many years the Australian field has 
been most fruitful for our colporteur work, but it was not 
opened up without a great conflict. William Arnold, one 
of our pioneers in this work, went to Australia with the 
first company of Seventh-day Adventist missionaries, and 
entered the field to sell "Thoughts on Daniel and the 
Revelation." Day after day he labored without taking a 
single order. Elder S. N. Haskell, the superintendent of 
the mission at that time, tells how Brother Arnold came 
in from his work at noon and night, day after day, and 
pleaded with God in his room for victory. For a long 
time it seemed that there was no avenue of approach to the 
people; but claiming the promises of God, and refusing to 
give up the struggle, the Lord finally gave a great victory, 
and not only did Brother Arnold have great success in the 
Australian field himself, but he also opened the way for a 
great company of from fifty to one hundred colporteurs 
there, who have been distributing literature in that country 
ever since. 

Brother Arnold's success was such that when the new 
printing-house was established in Melbourne, he was able 
from his profits to contribute two thousand dollars to- 
ward the purchase of its first power press. 

One of our most successful men had a similar struggle 
when he began work in New England with the " Great 
Controversy Between Christ and Satan." For two weeks 
he failed to take an order; but finally when the victory 
came, the angels of God went out before him, and he 
averaged seventy-five dollars' sales a week during the re- 
mainder of the school vacation, and was able to pay his 
way at the school for another year. 

A lady canvasser of New England, working for this 



1 K7 

a. t 



Resources Which Do Not Fail 223 

same book, failed to take an order for six weeks. Every 
day she sought God most earnestly for help, and, like 
Jacob, refused to let him go without a blessing. Finally 
help and success came, and she earned sufficient money 
during the remaining weeks of the vacation to pay her way 
through school. A young man in Arkansas worked ear- 
nestly for three months for his first order for ' ' Thoughts 
on Daniel and the Revelation." Since then he has become 
one of the most successful colporteurs in this country. 

Just before accepting an appointment from the Mission 
Board to Spain, John Brown had taken orders for a very 
large delivery in Mexico. On reaching one of the prin- 
cipal towns to make his delivery, he found the revolution- 
ary army occupying the hills about the town, with their 
cannon trained upon it. He prayed that the firing might 
not begin until his work was finished. His prayer was 
answered, and he made in that town one of his most suc- 
cessful deliveries. 

The Great Controversy 

These experiences are not unique; they are common to 
all colporteurs. When we enter this work, we take the 
Lord's side in the great controversy between Christ and 
Satan. The moment we volunteer for service, the struggle 
is inevitable. But the Lord Jesus has been before us, and 
has fought all these battles with the great enemy, and has 
brought away the keys of the prison-house, and has pro- 
claimed victory over the defeated foe. When we enlist 
under the triumphant banner of the cross, the victories of 
the cross are ours if we but lay hold upon them. 

Dear fellow workers, let us enter this secret place of 
power with God, the place of prayer. The key to success 
is prayer; the victory is won by faith. The prophet speaks 
of the place of prayer as the secret place of thunder. It 



AUG 21 1912 

224 The Printing-Press and the Gospel 

is the place of power; the place where our battles are fought 
and our victories gained. We should take our orders in 
this secret place before we venture to the homes of the 
people. This is the secret of our strength. Our success 
comes not from the world, but from God. The conditions 
of the world under which we labor affect our work only to 
the extent that they affect our courage, confidence, and 
faith. "This is the victory that overcometh the world, 
even our faith." 

"Lord, what a change within us one short hour 
Spent in thy presence will prevail to make! 
What heavy burdens from our bosoms take, 
What parched grounds refresh, as with a shower! 
We kneel, and all around us seems to lower; 
We rise, and all, the distant and the near, 
Stands forth in sunny outline, brave and clear; 
We kneel, how weak! — we rise, how full of power! 
Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrong, 
Or others, that we are not always strong; 
That we are ever overborne with care, 
That we should ever weak or heartless be, 
Anxious. or troubled, when with us is prayer; 
And joy, and strength, and courage are with thee?" 

— Archbishop Trench. 



